Root Canal Disaster

[netangel36]

Washington
My 19 year old daughter went in to see a dentist assigned to her by her insurance company for tooth pain on her lower left side. This dentist told her she needed a root canal. My friend who went with her asked if she could just have the tooth pulled, the dentist said no and that my daughter could make payments for her copay for the root canal. The dentist performed the root canal that very morning on the infected tooth. The dentist had someone else performing most of the procedure, in fact my friend saw the dentist leave the office for lunch. Well, after the procedure was done, the dentist sent my daughter home with a pain killer only (no antibiotics). Five hours later when I returned home, her chin, jaw, and neck were swollen to more than triple her normal size. She was crying saying she couldn't swallow or talk very well..in fact her tongue was also swollen. I called the dentist office and only got a recording so I drove to the dentist office where 2 ladies were just closing up. I explained my daughter's problem and they told me to call the dentist on call and he would phone in an antibiotic prescription. After 3 attempts to call him and only leaving messages...and 3 hours later...I had to rush my daughter to the emergency room. She was admitted to the hospital that night and spent 4 days there. We found out from the ER DR. that my daughter had a laceration under her tongue approximately 1-1 1/4 inches long. She had to have CATscan, and lots of X-rays of her mandible. My question...do we have a case?

 

[David.v.Goliath]

Call an attorney ....next time you may want to opt for an oral surgeon.

 

[vrzirn]

The DDS was correct in attempting to save the tooth, which I presume he did. Removing teeth at such a young age is not good dental practice. Also, Despite D&G's usual inane suggestion, a DDS is fully qualified to perform a root canal. Antibiotics are not routinely prescribed following a root canal. Sometimes, despite the best effort and correctly performed procedure, root canals do fail. Good job, bad result.
The laceration is another story. You have to prove damages. Permanent damages. Usually, lacerations in the mouth heal quickly due to the generous blood supply. No big deal.
It will not be worth very much but you might ask an attorney to review the file. The dentist may argue your daughter had a very small mouth and maneuvering his instruments was difficult There is also the issue of the "release" she signed prior to the procedure and the possible complications listed.

 

[netangel36]

Thank you for your response. I do have a question though. You state that it is not common practice to prescribe antibiotics for a root canal. Is it common practice to do a root canal on an infected tooth? I have been told that if you open up a tooth that is infected and do not treat it with antibiotics, the infection has no place to go but spread through the soft tissue either in the jaw, throat, or tongue area.

 

[netangel36]

It is an incorrect presumption at this point that the dentist was able to save the tooth. The oral surgeon who has taken over my daughter's care since she was in the hospital is still very concerned about the tooth as well as a salivary gland and the connecting duct. He just said today that my daughter is still not out of the woods and could very well need to be re-admitted to the hospital and could still need surgery to repair the damage done.

 

[vrzirn]

The root of a tooth is the portion embedded in alveolar bone, It is covered with cementum. The removal of the pulp by "root canal" process involves removal of infected tissue, cleansing of the area and filling of the canal with an inert material.
Primary management of acute dental conditions is mechanical. Antibiotics should be reserved for the treatment of an established infection such as a periapical abcess. If fever, lymphadenopathy, tooth mobility or edema of the soft tissues is present, a periapical abcess may have developed. In that case, antibiotics and incision and drainage are needed. Otherwise, tooth pain is treated by removing affected pulpal tissue and antibiotics are not indicated.
My presumption with regard to saving the tooth may have been premature but, at this point, is not incorrect.

 

[netangel36]

Thank you vrzirn for all that information. Just to let you know, we just looked at my daughter's records and it states very clearly that she had an abcessed tooth. And according to what you just said above, the dentist did not follow proper procedures.