Several months ago, I went to a new dentist. He examined me and
said I had
a cavity, which I suspected since the lower right side of my mouth
was a
little sensitive when I ate. So, he scheduled an appointement for
the
following week and had another dentist who I never saw before drill
the
tooth. They had just converted over to this new computer system and
all my
x-rays were recorded and given numbers. The tooth they drilled was
in the
right area but farther to the front of my mouth than I thought it
should be.
They were also supposed to drill with something other than the
traditional
mercury amalgam, and the filling does look lighter but I've never
had the
non-mercury amalgam before and this still looks silverish. Now, my
mouth is
bothering me again, a bit more intensely than before, in the same
area. I
strongly suspect they drilled the wrong tooth.
My question is: Should I go back to the same dentist and have him
look at
it? If they did mess up, wouldn't they try to cover it up and would
I have
a case to sue them? I'm inclined to see a different dentist. Would
that be
a better course of action? I'm open to suggestions.
Don't go back to the same dentist. Drilling the wrong tooth can
happen, if there is also a cavity in the tooth they drilled. That's
ok, because they filled a cavity. That leaves you with another cavity
that needs to be filled. You can now get that done and be happy. But
there are two problems with this dentist. If there were two cavities
and they told you there was only one, that's not the kind of dentist
you want to go back to. The other problem is the possibility that
they drilled a tooth that had not cavity. That can't happen
accidently. Dentist's don't drill through healthy enamal just because
the chart says this is the tooth to drill. If that happened it was
intentional. That's not the sort of dentist you want to go back to.
Your new dentist will not be able to tell by examination whether there
once was decay in a tooth that has been filled, because the evidence
has been drilled out. The only way to tell is to look at the x-rays.
You can have your x-rays and charts delivered to the new dentist, or
you can sue and have your attorney get the x-rays. Or you can drop it
and be happy you escaped from an incompetant dentist without much
damage or cost.
McGyver
