Is my dentist liable? What should I do?

[jenavii]

CALIFORNIA

Is my dentist liable, what should I do?
I had an extraction done on #17 (bottom, left wisdom) on Dec. 26th, 07. I had sharp pain during the procedure that dentist said i shouldn't have felt. The healing process was long and PAINFUL. I came back a week after to have the stitches removed and i explained to them that the left side of my tongue and inner gums were number and tingly. When I touched the left side of my tongue, i felt it where the extraction was and vice versa. They said it would eventually go away.

Its now almost a year later and I Still have pain, discomfort, numbness, tingling (pins & needles) and jaw Pipping/locking. I went back to that dentist about 2 months ago, they x-rayed and examined. They said nothing was wrong. NOTHING?!? They said I could go toSpecialistt if I liked.

Any whoo, do you think they should be liable for this? I no longer have dental insurance, and the discomfort is becoming TOO Much.

I don't recall signing a consent form, i do remember signing a form that said something like you agree to have following procedure. It was my first time at this dentist. So i filled out all the froms with my name and info, medical history, etc. I dont remember a consent form.

What should I do?

[seniorjudge]

The first thing to do is get a second opinion from a second dentist.

[ecmst12]

Sounds to me like nerve damage, which is a known risk of any surgery, including tooth extraction. If another dentist (or more appropriately, oral surgeon) can't help, you might consider seeing a neurologist. Not sure what, if anything, could be done about it, but I think that's a good place to start. But based on your post, there was no negligence, so you have no case against the dentist. The anatomy of the nerves in your mouth just had a nerve tangled up with the root of your tooth and it got damaged. It's one of those things that is just unavoidable sometimes, even if everything is done according to standards in the procedure.

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by jenavii

CALIFORNIA

Is my dentist liable, what should I do?
I had an extraction done on #17 (bottom, left wisdom) on Dec. 26th, 07. I had sharp pain during the procedure that dentist said i shouldn't have felt. The healing process was long and PAINFUL. I came back a week after to have the stitches removed and i explained to them that the left side of my tongue and inner gums were number and tingly. When I touched the left side of my tongue, i felt it where the extraction was and vice versa. They said it would eventually go away.

Its now almost a year later and I Still have pain, discomfort, numbness, tingling (pins & needles) and jaw Pipping/locking. I went back to that dentist about 2 months ago, they x-rayed and examined. They said nothing was wrong. NOTHING?!? They said I could go toSpecialistt if I liked.

Any whoo, do you think they should be liable for this? I no longer have dental insurance, and the discomfort is becoming TOO Much.

I don't recall signing a consent form, i do remember signing a form that said something like you agree to have following procedure. It was my first time at this dentist. So i filled out all the froms with my name and info, medical history, etc. I dont remember a consent form.

What should I do?

Nerve damage can be a problem with wisdom teeth extraction.

If you think that something was amiss, sometimes bad things happen when all is done correctly, you will need to have an independent dentist evaluate the pre-treatment x-rays, evaluate the dental record as to what was done, and the follow up that was rendered, and see if something indeed was done that might have been below the standard of care.

This is a very difficult situation to prove, and you would need experts to attest to that.