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Showing posts from April, 2013

Dental Malpractice : What You Should Know Before Refunding a Patient’s Money to Resolve a Dental Claim

  Despite your best efforts, there are always patients who will for some reason demand a refund, or payment for repair or revision of dental work you initially performed. When this occurs, there are several things you must do. It is always prudent to have the patient’s request in written form. That way, you will have a clear picture of exactly what the patient is requesting. If the patient’s request was verbal, you should politely ask the patient to submit his or her request in a letter, and to include the reasons why a refund or payment is demanded. After receiving a written request, you should advise the patient that you will review and investigate the complaint, and give the patient a time frame within which he or she can expect a response (for example, two weeks). You should also contact the Dental Claims Unit of Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company (MLMIC) to place MLMIC on notice that a claim has been made.   Depending upon the nature of the claim and whether you wish

Dental Malpractice : Suggested Uses for Written Consent Forms

  It is suggested that dentists now consider having patients sign written consent forms for various in-office procedures and treatment. For example, it is suggested that dentists use written consent forms for root canal therapy. Root canal therapy has numerous inherent risks, including file separation, the need to re-treat the tooth, continued pathology, and the possible need for apicoectomy or extraction. If informed of those risks, fewer patients will be surprised by complications or poor outcomes and less likely to place blame on the dentist.   Dentists should also consider using written consent forms for oral surgery performed in the office, including extractions and the placement of implants. It is well known that oral surgery has risks, including infection, bleeding, sinus perforation, and most significantly, nerve injury (parasthesia, dysthesia, hypersthesia, etc…).  The risk of nerve damage is particularly of concern due to the alarming increase in dental cases involving 

Dental Malpractice at the End of the Century

“As long as we have human error, we will have malpractice.” — William Otis Morris   While this statement may be true in some instances, it would be wrong to imply that all human error has been, or presently is, considered malpractice. Malpractice, whether applicable to dentists or other health-care providers, primarily revolves around the issue of reasonableness. This includes both the information provided to the patient making a treatment decision, and the appropriateness and technical proficiency of the procedure ultimately performed.   As we come to the close of the century, let us look back on the concept of malpractice and its impact on the practice of dentistry. Fundamental Concepts   Our society resolves most questions of professional liability by treating them as torts (literally, “wrongs”) within the arena of civil law. Malpractice law has been, and continues to be, governed by certain basic concepts hammered out over a century-and-a-half of jurisprudence. Dentist

Conditions caused by or associated with dental malpractice and dental neglect

 To conventional physicians, diseases associated with the teeth are off limits. To thinking physicians, death begins in the mouth,, meaning what we allow ourselves and the dentist to put into it. But, the whole body must be considered. In this practice we have found that 50% or more of our patients have medical diseases associated with dental malpractice or dental neglect. By dental malpractice we mean : 1. The use of mercury and others metals in the mouth. 2. The use of fluoride to “reduce” dental caries. 3. The use of incorrect techniques in vital (alive) tooth extraction like “Wisdom” teeth. 4. The use of incorrect techniques in avital (dead) tooth extraction like: A. Failure to remove all of the tooth B. Failure to remove the periodontal ligaments and membrane around the roots. C. Failure to curette the socket and surrounding bone until there is living bone. D. Failure to remove all dead tissue in the case of osteonecrosis of the jawbone. 5. The leaving of dead tissue