Medical Malpractice and Negligently Completed Crowns and Bridges

If a dentist is negligent in the services he performed in connection with your crown or bridges, is it time to contact a medical malpractice attorney.

The answer to that question is most likely “yes.” A lawsuit is warranted any time the dentist, orthodontist, endodontist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, periodontist, prosthodontists, pediatric dentist or a dental assistant is negligent and causes damanges such as pain, suffering or disfigurement. The law defines the negligence as misfeasance in carrying out generally accepted professional dental standards.

What are those standards? A medical malpractice attorney (a personal injury attorney who specializes his practice towards medical malpractice law) will advise you that the expectations of all dental professionals are high: More than ever, good teeth are a cultural norm. One can’t expect to find work (let alone a date) without an unbroken line of pearly whites. Being presentable often enhances career success.

This is why a dental error such as improperly installed crowns and bridges are reason to contact a medical malpractice injury attorney. It is hardly unusual: A survey by the American Dental Association of eleven insurance companies with a cumulative 77,837 general dental practitioners as policyholders found that crowns and bridges are the single most frequently cited dental malpractice treatment. One out of five paid claims are for erroneous crowns and bridges, followed by root canal treatment, simple extractions, dentures and other procedures.

The personal impact of a bad crown or bridge job can be extensive and painful, and can occur in several ways, including but not limited to the following:

• A crown should be the same size and have a similar appearance to the tooth that is being restored, but if it is larger than the natural tooth, it can trap bacteria.


• After cementing the crown the bite may not perfectly align itself with existing teeth, which can be fixed with grinding. But if excessive grinding is done, it can result in temporamandibular disorder, TMD, which can result in jaw spasms or tinnitus (ear ringing).


• Sometimes a crown is set too tightly against adjoining teeth, prohibiting proper flossing in the embrasure space between.


• Unsealed margins on crowns or veneers can leak or trap bacterial plaque, later leading to decay and/or periodontal gum disease.

Plaintiffs in dental malpractice lawsuits complain of further tooth decay, severe infection and searing pain that lasts for weeks or months after the procedure. This is not what a patient bargains for when they subject themselves to dental treatment.

Because any of these situations qualify as falling below standards for the dental profession, such inadequate care is therefore deemed negligent. Medical malpractice law in California deems this as malfeasance, grounds for a lawsuit. Together with your attorney, the facts of the case should be reviewed, medical records need to be obtained, and an expert witness, a dentist with appropriate credentials, should be called in to provide objective testimony to a court on your behalf. It is very important to prove that the injuries incurred were due to the dental care provider and not another cause.

What is a dentist’s liability in improperly installed crowns and bridges? In addition to covering all costs relating to reparative dental and medical treatment, the law allows you to collect for pain, suffering and lost wages due to injury. The maximum amount for pain and suffering in California, given the conditions of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, is $250,000, with additional amounts available for lost past and future wages if the court finds your injury limits your ability to work.

Your attorney, like most personal injury attorneys who prosecute medical malpractice claims, will most likely work on contingency fee basis, meaning, you pay nothing out of pocket for your lawsuit while the attorney collects only if he or she is successful in winning the lawsuit.

<em>R. Klettke is a freelance writer. He writes about personal injury and medical malpractice law and other matters of jurisprudence.</em>

Important Advisory: This article is not intended to provide legal advice upon which you or anyone else should rely in making any decisions regarding the instituting or prosecuting of a legal claim. Laws and rules relating to the bringing of a claim vary widely from state to state. You should always contact a personal injury attorney to obtain information as to the rules and the laws pertaining to any claim you might have.