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Five Common Examples of Dental Malpractice


  • Failure to Provide a Timely and Accurate Diagnosis  

When visiting a dentist for a routine check-up, you have the fair and reasonable expectation that your dentist will actually find any problems in your mouth. This is critically important because an early diagnosis can save your teeth and prevent serious medical complications. If a dentist fails to make a proper and timely diagnosis, they may be guilty of malpractice.  

  • Performing an Unnecessary Operation

All invasive medical procedures come with risks. As such, medical professionals, including dentists, should not perform unnecessary operations. There is no reason to put a patient at an avoidable risk.  

  • Treating the Wrong Tooth

Your teeth are complicated. When a patient has a tooth problem, it is often unclear to the untrained eye which tooth is the root cause of the issue. Of course, as a medical professional, a dentist should usually be able to properly assess and treat the real problem. By treating the wrong tooth, the dentist is leaving the real problem untreated. This can lead to severe long-term complications.  

  • Using Unsterilized Equipment

To protect the health of the patient, all dental equipment must be properly sterilized. Using unsterilized medical equipment can lead to a patient contracting an illness or an infection.

  • Failure to Properly Apply Anesthesia

Your mouth is very sensitive and dental procedures are often amongst the most painful medical operations. Fortunately, anesthesia can help to relieve pain and make dental procedures bearable. However, anesthesia is also a very dangerous drug. If it is not properly administered, the result can be severe, even life-altering, nerve damage.
Dentists and dental professionals have a legal duty to provide patients with quality medical care. If they fail to live up to this duty, it can result in dental patients suffering severe harm. Indeed, the failure to provide a sufficient quality of dental care is a form of medical malpractice. Sadly, medical malpractice is a major problem in Clark County and throughout the state of Nevada. While many people do not realize it, dentists are often guilty of medical malpractice. According to a report from the American Board of Legal Medicine, almost 15 percent of all medical malpractice claims are related to dental treatment. For victims of dental malpractice, the road to recovery can be long. Victims need legal protection. If you or a loved one has been injured by a negligent dental professional, you need to speak to an experienced Las Vegas medical malpractice lawyer today.  

Do I Have a Viable Malpractice Claim?

If your dental procedure went wrong, and you suffered damage as a result, you may have a viable malpractice claim. Determining whether or not dental malpractice actually occurred is extremely complex. As such, you owe it to yourself and to your family to have your case reviewed by a qualified attorney. Your attorney will be able to investigate your case and guide you through the legal claims process. While all dental malpractice cases are fact specific, there are four different elements that must be satisfied to hold a medical professional liable for your damage:

  • You must prove the existence of dentist-patient relationship;
  • You must establish the standard of care that was owed by the dentist;
  • You must prove that the dentist deviated from that required standard of care; and
  • You must prove a causal link between the breach in the standard of care and your damages.

Compensation Available for Dental Malpractice Victims

After negligence has been established, a victim is entitled to recover compensation. In Nevada, dental malpractice victims, like all other medical malpractice victims, are entitled to seek compensation for the full extent of their losses. The level of compensation available for you will depend on the specific nature and extent of your damages. Generally, our team can help dental malpractice victims obtain compensation for any of the following:

  • Medical bills;
  • Lost wages along with diminished earning capacity;
  • Long-term disability;
  • Pain and suffering;
  • Mental anguish; and
  • Disfigurement.

Contact Our Team Today

Substandard dental treatment can cause severe long-term damage. Victims of dental malpractice deserve to be compensated for their damages. At the Ladah Law Firm, our team has helped protect the rights and interests of many medical malpractice victims. If you have been the victim of dental malpractice in the Las Vegas area, please call our office today at (702) 252-0055 to set up a free initial review of your case. We proudly serve victims throughout Southern Nevada, including in Henderson, Summerlin and Green Valley.