So, they pulled the wrong tooth...

[AlexRuzhyo]

My mom has had her tooth filled several times, all by shitty newbie dentists. The fillings fell out, and because of the time in between appointments, the tooth got worse. Eventually it cracked in half, and became infected. After weeks of searching for an emergency appointment, she finally got one.

She went up there and they took their X-rays, normal procedure or whatever. They pointed out a tooth that had a root canal, and my mother told them it was the one in front of that one, and we heard them say the number of the tooth. So everything is fine, right? They shot her up, pulled the tooth, and we come home. She goes to bed and wakes up a few hours later and decides to check it out. She removes the gauss, and notices the nerve-exposed tooth is still there.

After going hysterical because she went through all that pain, she decided to call the doctors up. The dentist that's there now (the one who performed the operation wasn't there) is trying to shrug it off, saying "Well that tooth needed pulled anyway. How are you sure that wasn't the one giving you pain?". The reason we know is because it didn't start hurting until the final filling fell out, and we had a different dentist check it out before hand.

The one they pulled had a root canal, so if couldn't have hurt her, and she could have had it pulled whenever. It was dead, no nerve. So now on top of the original pain from the infected tooth, she has to deal with the pain from the dead tooth being pulled.

My question to you is: Has anything like this happened to you, and what should our next course of action be? Know any online resources that could help answer my questions? I'm guessing we should get the X-ray and charts, and try to find someone to give us an consultation.

I apologize for the wall of text and the lack of wit and sarcasm.

Summary:
Had an appointment for a cracked, infected, nerve-exposed tooth. They pulled tooth with root canal. Woman is going ape-shit crazy and I'm interested in financial compensation.

[Exoduso]

A Root canaled tooth can still hurt you if it gets cracked/infected... what are you talking about?

But if the tooth they pulled out was fine, then it's their mistake...
But didn't she have a crown over the root canaled one?

[Shuemue]

BG Forums: Providing free legal advice since 2003!

[AlexRuzhyo]

The root canal'd one was fine, and it did have a crown.

And it was just to my understanding the a canal'd tooth didn't provide pain because the nerve was removed. I could understand if it would hurt the gum or something, but that's just my guess.

[Exoduso]

lol so wtf? If they were next to each other it could've really been that she felt like one tooth was hurting, but it was actually coming from the other... I had the same thing, and it's fairly common especially with molars (you didn't mention which but i'm assuming it was a molar?)

If she's still in pain and feels like the tooth she felt pain in previously is still there then first of all she needs to get that one out asap before it becomes a problem. You can worry about compensation later, but you don't want the situation to worsen. Also, you might want to get a bridge or implants or whatever the hell they do these days (and if you can afford it/have dental insurance) and get it fixed.

As for the pulling the wrong tooth? I think the maximum you'll get is the price you paid for the wrong tooth being pulled, since you can't prove that there wasn't any problem with it since they're the so-called "professionals", and they won't say that it was their fault in order to cover their asses.

But I would suggest that she goes get her mouth fixed in the meanwhile, keeping a gap will eventually cause all the teeth to shift and she might even need braces in the long run (which i'm sure she doesn't want lol).

So yeah.




EDIT: I have had several root canals... one was even infected while they were doing the procedure and the shots didn't do squat until he gave me a shot directly to the nerve (which hurts like hellllll).... however, even though the root canal might seem like a success, there can still be several hidden nerves that might've not been removed previously that might start doing trouble later. Also, the percha-whatever thing that they put into the canals before they close it up can cause an infection if the gums reject it or whatever, which can cause pain as well. Also, if a root canaled tooth gets cracked for whatever reason it can also cause pain, so all in all you can't really tell.

[AlexRuzhyo]

The one they were supposed to pull was Tooth 12. 1st Bicuspid (1st premolar), but they pulled Tooth 13.

She's finally snapped out of her rage so I can actually get some information out of her. They said they were pulling 12, but they ended up pulling the canal'd 13.

EDIT: They gave her 5 shots of novacaine, and she couldn't tell they were pulling the wrong tooth. Says she felt pain the in infected one while they were pulling the wrong one.

[Exoduso]

And she's still in pain right? (and not from pain of getting a tooth pulled, because I assume that hurts all on its own..)

[AlexRuzhyo]

Yes, the infected tooth is hurting just as bad, or maybe even worse than it has. This is excluding the pain from the one she had pulled.

[evilbau]

bg would be one of the last places i'd ask this question. you are looking to sue? the best thing to do is consult a lawyer if that is the case. How much you can get in damages and how solid your case is something a lawyer can answer. certain groups of professionals have unlimited liability (doctors and such). I would go to a forum that dentists frequent, you probably can get good answers. Forums with lawyers might not be as helpful since they probably don't want their opinions intrepreted as legal advice (lawyers are another group with unlimited liability).

[AlexRuzhyo]

The only reason I'm posting here is because I don't know where to start to even seek advice. I'm not so much seeking advice on legal action, just wanted to see if anyone went through something like this and knows really where to start or who to consult. Such as any free services or something of the sort. I'm also interested in anyone else's dental horror stories.

She's still going to get the infected tooth pulled, but we may have to go to the same office to do so. Finding someplace that accepts our insurance is tough, seeing as it's Welfare. The few places that accept it, make you wake several months in between appointments so the amount of work you need done keeps piling up. Paying for it in cash isn't that much of an option, seeing as we're several thousand dollars in debt due to a past marraige.

[Malaquist]

As for the pulling the wrong tooth? I think the maximum you'll get is the price you paid for the wrong tooth being pulled, since you can't prove that there wasn't any problem with it since they're the so-called "professionals", and they won't say that it was their fault in order to cover their asses.

After spending time and money on legal fees you might not even get anything at all, so you'd have to find out from a real lawyer if the case was even worth pursuing or not. There's a pretty solid chance that you won't really get much of anything even if you do win.

(and not from pain of getting a tooth pulled, because I assume that hurts all on its own..)

Depends on if the teeth are healthy or not I suppose, I had two pulled because there wasn't enough room for them and it didn't really hurt at all after a day or two. Then again, you have to factor in individuals as well... and if they took out the wrong tooth there's always the question of competency on the dentist's part.

At any rate, I'd say not to expect to really make money off of it. It's awful that it happened at all, but be thankful it was only a tooth and not a limb.

[evilbau]

The only reason I'm posting here is because I don't know where to start to even seek advice. I'm not so much seeking advice on legal action, just wanted to see if anyone went through something like this and knows really where to start or who to consult. Such as any free services or something of the sort. I'm also interested in anyone else's dental horror stories.

She's still going to get the infected tooth pulled, but we may have to go to the same office to do so. Finding someplace that accepts our insurance is tough, seeing as it's Welfare. The few places that accept it, make you wake several months in between appointments so the amount of work you need done keeps piling up. Paying for it in cash isn't that much of an option, seeing as we're several thousand dollars in debt due to a past marraige.

check your pms, that might help. I did a 1 min search, i'm sure you can find some more relevant info. GL

[Bebopaloo]

not so much a tooth, but when I was very young, 2 of my friends and I were playing catch and one of my friends caught his finger on a tree branch as he threw. There was a sharp piece of bark stuck in his finger about 1/4" inch deep. Fast forward 3 weeks, all of us were swimming in his pool and his stitches have almost all but dissentigrated, and what should pop out of his finger but the piece of bark that was stuck in there. Turned out, they didn't even remove the bark and had just sewn over it. It didn't hurt him at all so it wasn't nearly as big of a deal as this, but his finger had quite a funny looking indentation in it for another week or two.

[arlania]

Id ask a lawyer about it but you probably wont get much. You could probably get the bills paid for though.

[Exoduso]

They only pulled 1 tooth after all, doubt you'd even get enough to cover your legal expenses in the event you were going to sue them.

[Exoduso]

Your story is lol, but since when do you have 6 wisdom teeth?

[Ddz]

I've had some mutant teeth. I've had one pulled 3 times, braces twice, and currently, at age 27, am seriously cutting another eye tooth on my left side.

The last time I had braces the straightening took for exactly two weeks, then I lost another tooth.

I'm really odd and have pretty awful teeth for the thousands of dollars that have been sunk into them.

You had a tooth grow back three times? And you had 6 wisdom teeth? >.>

[Exoduso]

How small is your mouth lol...

[Volken]

brush your teeth guys lolz

[Ddz]

brush your teeth guys lolz

and floss daily!