About 3 months ago my gums were very red and painful, i went to my old dentist and he told me to use a special mouthwash called Peridex. The hygienist couldn’t clean my teeth at my old dentist because my gums were too sore. About a month later I went back to my old dentist and i asked him if I should keep using the Peridex mouthwash or if he was going to do a root canal. He tapped my teeth but didn’t do xrays or the spray of cold air test (sorry I don’t know the term for the test). About 2 or 3 days later I went to a different dentist and she took lots of xrays, tapped my teeth and practically jumped out of the chair when she did the spray of cold air test, plus a few more teeth that needed fillings. I had the root canal done and now have a permanent filling. However the tooth that had the root canal done needs a crown but I can’t afford $1300 to have the crown done and my insurance won’t cover it since they only cover the first four front teeth. Can I sue my old dentist for incompetence and negligence and can he be made to rectify his mistake by putting a crown on the tooth that he should have done a root canal and crown done on in the first place???
IANAL, so take this with a grain of salt. . .
To recover damages in a lawsuit you would have to prove that you incurred greater expense due to your old dentist’s negligence. Can you prove that you wouldn’t have needed a crown if your dentist had properly diagnosed the problem three months ago? I doubt it - you say yourself that “he should have done a root canal and a crown . . . in the first place.” In other words, if your old dentist had properly diagnosed the problem you would be in exactly the same situation you’re in now - you would have a root canal and a permanent filling but wouldn’t be able to afford a crown.
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
You went to the old dentist and apparently were not diagnosed as needing a root canal. One month later you went back to him and again were not diagnosed as needing a root canal. Three days later you went to the new dentist and were diagnosed as needing a root canal. So let’s conclude the old dentist failed to identify the need for a root canal.
How would things be any different if the old dentist had determined you needed a root canal? Would the crown have been covered if he had identified and fixed the problem? Unless you had different insurance with him that would have covered that particular tooth where your new insurance with the new dentist doesn’t cover it, it appears that the only difference is you would have needed a crown you can’t afford either one month earlier or three days earlier.
I don’t see how it’s the old dentist’s fault you needed a root canal, and I don’t see how his failing to diagnose it harmed you in any way or resulted in it costing you more than if he had diagnosed it (unless there was a change in insurance, which is a pretty critical piece of information to leave out). Am I missing something?
On what possible grounds should the old dentist be liable for the cost of the crown?