Not sure about malpractice against dentist.

[kriderg]

I went to an orthodontist to correct severly turned in teeth on my lower jaw. After an exam, I was told that 10 months of braces and then 2 years of a removable retainer would correct the problem. I agreed to the deal and proceeded to pay out of my pocket for the procedure. The dentist kept extending my braces month after month, before I finally said that my teeth weren't going to straighten all the way. He took off the braces and installed a PERMANENT retainer to the back of my teeth and said I was done!!! At no time during the entire year did they say anything about changing plans or that my teeth wouldn't straighten. The reasons behind my work were not cosmetic at all and they knew it. It was to fix a speech impediment. This permanent, metal bar in my mouth now GIVES me my speech impediment back and they said I was stuck with this for the rest of my life!!! Not only did I waste over $1500 on this, but suffered several months of pain while they tried to turn teeth that wouldn't budge. My next point is that, if I knew I would have been stuck with this retainer then I would have NEVER done this in the first place.

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

Well, of course you will need to speak with a medical malpractice atty in your state (try attorneypages.com or your state bar's lawyer referral program) BUT I CAN give you some hope here:


1) Lack of informed consent -- A doctor owes the highest duty to his patient: he must inform him of all known results and side effects of procedures to be performed. The only time he doesn't have to do this is in an emergency, which I hardly think this is.

If you agreed to procedure x (braces and retainer), he CANNOT give you procedure Y (full perm retainer) without informing you of this to have you make the call.

You can bring forth an action. The ultimate determiner of whether you prevail rests on a number of factors, but boils down to whether you have permanent injury (or some measurable level of injury) and this was due to his negligence. His negligence here being the lack of informed consent.


I hope this helps shed some light on your situation. Best of luck to you.

 

[suits me fine]

Hi,

No legal advice here. But I can lend a few facts from the dental side of things. First and formost, the original posters says:
----------------------------------------
The dentist kept extending my braces month after month, before I finally
said that my teeth weren't going to straighten all the way.
----------------------------------------

The question I have is...did you as the patient "make the call" as to whether or not treatment was working? Only then the plans changed and the dentist removed the braces?

If so, judging by what lawrat has offered in the way of information regarding a change of plan x to y, could be the reason your DR. took another course of action?

Another note, you said your impedement "returned" with the insertion of the partial with a metal bar? Maybe you jumped the gun and with a bit more time...the proceedure WAS actually working?

Still,(there is no mention of your age), one thing that the dentist SHOULD definately have mentioned to you regardless of any of the above....

The older you are when you seek treatment for ortho work, the more difficult it becomes to alter the position of your teeth. If your teeth do oblige to the treatment and straighten to the fullest desired position. Chances are without some sort of permanent retainer, at minimum one you wear at night, your teeth will try their damndest to rotate back into their initial positions.

I know of many 30 something year olds who had ortho work, spending big big bucks...only to have there teeth revert close to where they were before treatment.These were individuals who shined on the advice to wear the retainer. The retainer is used to "pursuade" your teeth to remain in the corrected position.

IMHO, it' sounds as though the dentist may owe you an alternative treatment at no further cost? Or even reapply your braces. However, as lawrat says...unless there is injury as a result of treatment...malpractice this isn't. BUT, I aren't a lawyer either. You may want to go to the ADA for more information. Cause I aren't a dentist either.......but I AM in the dental field.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[suits me fine]

Hi,

No legal advice here. But I can lend a few facts from the dental side of things. First and formost, the original posters says:
----------------------------------------
The dentist kept extending my braces month after month, before I finally
said that my teeth weren't going to straighten all the way.
----------------------------------------

The question I have is...did you as the patient "make the call" as to whether or not treatment was working? Only then the plans changed and the dentist removed the braces?

If so, judging by what lawrat has offered in the way of information regarding a change of plan x to y, could be the reason your DR. took another course of action?

Another note, you said your impedement "returned" with the insertion of the partial with a metal bar? Maybe you jumped the gun and with a bit more time...the proceedure WAS actually working?

Still,(there is no mention of your age), one thing that the dentist SHOULD definately have mentioned to you regardless of any of the above....

The older you are when you seek treatment for ortho work, the more difficult it becomes to alter the position of your teeth. If your teeth do oblige to the treatment and straighten to the fullest desired position. Chances are without some sort of permanent retainer, at minimum one you wear at night, your teeth will try their damndest to rotate back into their initial positions.

I know of many 30 something year olds who had ortho work, spending big big bucks...only to have there teeth revert close to where they were before treatment.These were individuals who shined on the advice to wear the retainer. The retainer is used to "pursuade" your teeth to remain in the corrected position.

IMHO, it' sounds as though the dentist may owe you an alternative treatment at no further cost? Or even reapply your braces. However, as lawrat says...unless there is injury as a result of treatment...malpractice this isn't. BUT, I aren't a lawyer either. You may want to go to the ADA for more information. Cause I aren't a dentist either.......but I AM in the dental field.

GOOD LUCK!