Is this considered dential malpractice? What should I do?!


Question:

Is this considered dential malpractice? What should I do?

I went to the dentist last wednesday to have my buttom left molar extracted. It took a long time for the dentist to pull it , there was a lot of preasure and severe jaw pain. I was told to take advil or tylenol for the pain. When I went home that night I couldn't sleep the pain was unbearable and the meds were not helping, I waited until Monday morning when the dentist opened because I thought it was normal for pain after an extraction, but not this painful I knew there was someting wrong.When I went back, the doctor who pulled my tooth was on vacation so I had to see the other doctor, who said that I had a dry socket, infection, piece of tooth still there, and chipped jaw bone which was done during the extraction. This has been going on for 10 days now and I'm still in pain and suffering from tmj. Please help and if anyone went through the same thing anwer me. Everyone is telling me to sue the first dentist but I am unsure what to do.

Additional Details

3 weeks ago
THe second doctor gave me painkillers and helped fix the problem the best he can, but i'm waiting for the apin to go away. I can onlt open my month a little it's like my jaw is locked.


Answers:

This is not malpractice. Let me make that very clear. Malpractice is doing something deliberately to cause harm to a patient.

You having a dry socket is not the dentist's fault. Nor is it yours. It's just one of those complications that can occur with extractions. So is infection. Infection is caused by not keeping the area clean and dry.

How did the second dentist know about the other things? Did he do an x-ray? It is not uncommon for a little piece of root to be left after an extraction. If you had curved roots for example, it may have broken off, and he couldn't see it.

I don't see how you could have chipped jaw bone. Around the tooth area are small bones called Alveolar bone. Your "jaw bone" is far below where the teeth and roots are.

The first dentist told you that Advil or Tylenol should be sufficient because it normally is. However, everyone has different levels of pain tolerance.

I don't think attempting to sue the first dentist would do you any good. Just wait and go back to him, tell him what the second dentist said, and have him re-examine and x-ray the area of the extraction.




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