dentist caused chemical burn on my lip

[minimeat]

What is the name of your state? PA

Hello,

I went to the dentist over 2 months ago to have a root canal retreated since it was infected. I got to the dentist, he numbed me up, did the procedure fine i had no complaints with the work he did on the tooth, i felt no pain. However, as he was taking the plastic and metal out of my mouth, he dropped some sort of chemical on my lip. I don't know what it was, but it burned a circular hole on the left side of my lip about 3/8" wide and close to a 1/4" deep. It was very deep, raw, and noticable and was pretty painful for the next few days. When he did it, he showed his assistant, didn't say what it was other than a chemical burn and that it would heal in a couple of weeks.

Its been over two months now, and the mark is still there. It has healed a little bit, i'd say its still 85% of its original size and not as deep. But the mark on my lip is still white, and still noticeable, espically when i smile. It seems as if the skin on the lip is permanently damaged, and isn't going to heal back to its original state. And everytime i smile theres a very noticable white mark on my lip, looks really weird.

My question to you guys it what should i do? I feel ive waited a while and that it should have healed by now. Do you guys think that the dentist is responsible for fixing this somehow? I don't know if theres any sort of cosmetic surgery that would fix it but i feel that he has damaged my skin and that he should pay to fix it.

What are my legal rights and what steps should i take next to fix this?

Any help would be greatly appricated.

Regards,
Mark

 

[barry1817]

dental issue

What is the name of your state? PA

Hello,

I went to the dentist over 2 months ago to have a root canal retreated since it was infected. I got to the dentist, he numbed me up, did the procedure fine i had no complaints with the work he did on the tooth, i felt no pain. However, as he was taking the plastic and metal out of my mouth, he dropped some sort of chemical on my lip. I don't know what it was, but it burned a circular hole on the left side of my lip about 3/8" wide and close to a 1/4" deep. It was very deep, raw, and noticable and was pretty painful for the next few days. When he did it, he showed his assistant, didn't say what it was other than a chemical burn and that it would heal in a couple of weeks.

Its been over two months now, and the mark is still there. It has healed a little bit, i'd say its still 85% of its original size and not as deep. But the mark on my lip is still white, and still noticeable, espically when i smile. It seems as if the skin on the lip is permanently damaged, and isn't going to heal back to its original state. And everytime i smile theres a very noticable white mark on my lip, looks really weird.

My question to you guys it what should i do? I feel ive waited a while and that it should have healed by now. Do you guys think that the dentist is responsible for fixing this somehow? I don't know if theres any sort of cosmetic surgery that would fix it but i feel that he has damaged my skin and that he should pay to fix it.

What are my legal rights and what steps should i take next to fix this?

Any help would be greatly appricated.

Regards,
Mark

I think you should:

a. tell your dentist that you are greatly concerned about the problem on your lip and that it happened during the treatment of the root canal when he spilled a liquid on your lip

b. ask what can be done about it and what he intends to do about it

c. see if you can get a consult wth another professional to see what it is going to take to make you whole.


The issues that you have are interesting.

Accidents do happen, which this seems to be, so what is the remedy for the accident. First there should have been an informed consent prior to treatment, second when the accident occurred you should have been informed of the situation and the remedies, third a burn like this should have been noticed on follow up visits and the dentist should have been inquiring about the healing and the problem.

And it would have seemed that a liquid burn could have been treated much easier at the time of the incident with vigorous rinsing of the area.

There seems to be a problem here that relates to several issues of patient care, and the failure to follow through with the care.

I think you are finding that the harm won't go away with normal healing and the problems may not be adjudicated without legal counsel representing you.

There is a time frame that you must be concerned with, so looking into this quicker than later is the best for you.

Hope this helps.

Feel free to contact me if you have other questions.

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