Giving genuine care is a dentist’s sincere approach to all patients with compassion and respect. While a dentist’s role is to correctly diagnose a patient and creating treatment plans for the patient’s oral health problem. But if a dentist neglects his/her responsibility there will be consequences afterward. And if a dentist is facing an allegation case, it is best to have a dental attorney with years of experience in handling any cases.
A dentist in Mesquite, Texas was accused of alleged gross negligence. The incident happened between March 2, 2016, and January 12, 2018, when a patient received a variety of dental services and the dentist was the one who provided some of the dental services to the patient including endodontic treatment (i.e., root canal procedures) on tooth #23, tooth #24 and #25. It was then later on April 10, 2018, when that patient filed a complaint with the Board, stating that she was suffering from chronic tooth pain and sensitivity as a result of the dental services that the patient had. The Board conducted its investigation into the complaint and the Board obtained and reviewed pertinent dental records and determined that the dentist had departed from the standard of practice in his treatment of the patient.
In the records, it indicates that the dentist conducted an initial exam of the patient on March 2, 2016. No diagnostic information of any kind was recorded in the patient’s dental chart as to the dentist’s findings or impressions resulting from the exam. Nonetheless, on an undated and unsigned page in the patient’s dental chart, a column titled “1 Diagnosis” indicates that root canals and crowns were necessary for tooth #23, tooth #24, tooth #25, and tooth #26. Nowhere in the patient record is there a written diagnosis documenting the conditions found on these four (4) adjacent teeth that would support the need for root canal treatment on any of the teeth. Moreover, it is atypical for four (4) adjacent teeth to need root canal treatment simultaneously, and pre-operative x-rays, as well as intraoral photographs of the patient’s teeth, do not support the dentist’s unwritten rationale for such treatment.
The dentist’s dental license is subject to disciplinary action in that the dentist departed from the standard of practice in multiple instances with regard to his failure to have a written diagnosis of conditions and findings in the patient record to support root canal treatment rendered to Patient P.M. his failure to use a rubber dam and/or to document the use of such a dam in providing root canal treatment to Patient P.M., and his failure to have a written diagnosis of conditions and findings in the patient record to support the change in treatment for tooth #26. Complainant refers to, and by this reference incorporates, the allegations set forth above, inclusive, as though set forth fully herein.
Before the proceedings, the dentist has the right of counsel. Therefore, it is essential to have a dental attorney as a legal counsel when seeking help on wanting to defend and protect your license. Yet the dentist failed to hire a dental attorney for help against the filed complaint.
If you wish to ask for help and don’t’ want to be in the same situation with the dentist, you should consider hiring a dental attorney who is very skilled and has experience. Attorney Yong J. An, a Texas Dental Attorney will fight for your professional rights. To get started with a private consultation, you may contact him at (832) 428-5679.