Dentist wants his money

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

I have a family member who had over $4000.00 worth of dental work done to their teeth (crownings). They made their down payment of half of the full amount and agreed to do a payment plan from there on in on the balance left.

A little under a year of having these new teeth in place, this family member visited another dentist in the area, who basically said that the crownings should never have been put in place as there was extensive bone loss and these teeth wouldn't last another year--bone loss that would have been existing at the time of the procedure--and in a short amount of time they will require dentures. Problem is this--the dentist who performed this job is taking them to SCC for the balance of 700+ dollars.

Am I wrong in thinking that the dentist was negligent for wasting the patient's money knowing full well these teeth would not last with the condition the teeth were in? Is it feasible to assume that it is possible they will not have to pay the remaining balance on this, or possibly even reimbursement for monies paid on this bogus job? Any advice would be appreciated.

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Only a court of law can determine if there was negligence and how much it is worth. This does not relieve the party from their obligaition to pay the dentist bill even if they do not agree with it. The correct procedure would be to pay the bill then sue the dentist for his negligence. Small claims court will not accept negligence as a reason for not paying the bill. Pay the bill then hire a good personal injury attorney.

Thanks, racer. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Such a sad situation, as I've had experiences with this dentist myself, whose quality of work is best left unsaid.

Thanks again for your time.

If you are able to get the second dentist's report or his live testimony at the small claims court, the court may relieve your relative from paying the balance of the debt.

If you pay the balance, you have no leverage over the first dentist. Plus, the dentist will probably just send the office manager to argue the case that the billing is legitimate. If you have the second dentist report or their live testimony, you may have a winner.

Also find out if your relative signed any documents regarding payment of the bill. Some payment agreements require the matter to go through arbitration and not through the court system.

No personal injury attorney is going to take your case since there is no present problem with the teeth. Maybe after the crowns fall off will you have a claim for malpractice.

Check with your state's dental association regarding a peer review process. This is a couple steps beyond a second opinion and is quite powerful. My sisters former orthodontist used an antiquated from of relieveing her bite problem which could have caused damage. Luckily she moved and had to go to a different orthodontist who discovered the problem and put in place the peer review process concept. Once the process was even hinted at to the former orthodontist, he refunded her money and paid the other orthodontist for the "repair".

A peer review in a file is a fate worse than death for a medical professional as lawsuits can be passed off as junk until there are several.

Good luck.