# Does this situation(dentist committing assault) make sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 29, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809 "2015-04-29T14:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/21 "2015-04-29T19:23:55Z")
> [@Fallen](#): > > How assault or battery (or an act where both are in play) are defined depends on state. I’m quite aware of that. In Florida (where this occurred), the statutes closely mirror the common law definitions. Battery includes assault, but not the reverse. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/22 "2015-04-30T01:30:44Z")
Just wait till she needs braces. ETA: and she will. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/23 "2015-04-30T08:40:47Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The dentist had better be able to show the consent form where the mother agreed to have as many extractions as the dentist thought necessary, or I suspect his license may be in jeopardy. Even if he can do this, I can’t think of a good reason for both he and his hygienist to leave the room when the child was strapped to the papoose board and, apparently, still struggling. He should also have been able to secure the child without bruising her neck. > > Assuming that any or most of this is actually true, which at the least has not been established. > > Regards, > Shodan Agreed. I doubt it was assault in the sense of the staff beating her up for the fun of it, but they - _if_ the story is true - did cause those injuries by negligence. You just don’t leave a child trussed up in a room alone knowing that they might fall off and get hurt. Removing extra teeth is slightly different; perhaps the mother did technically agree to that, but if she doesn’t remember doing so then that possible outcome may not have been explained to her in an acceptable way. And I find it very hard to believe that there’s no way for the dentist and his staff to be punished for this and the child compensated. As a child a little younger than this one I was mistreated by a dentist and it took me a very long time to get over it, time in which I had to have a lot of dental treatment and was absolutely terrified every single time, proper panic attacks that I honestly tried my best to control, but failed. When my braces were being tightened as a teenager I had to be treated at a separate time to all other patients because my screams distressed them. I hit my dentist causing an injury at least once just by flailing around. If we’d been paying then we probably would have had to pay extra for this, and we did have to pay extra to travel to a hospital further away. Because of this I think that the mother, if her story is true, would have grounds for suing for the quite likely future fears of the dentist her daughter will have. Maybe she won’t have any fears, but it is reasonably probable. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/24 "2015-04-30T11:25:21Z")
More and more parents are saying the dentist harmed their child, provided shoddy treatment, and/or provided treatment well beyond what they thought was going to happen. The dentist is being investigated for criminal charges. > [@SciFiSam](#): > > Removing extra teeth is slightly different; perhaps the mother did technically agree to that, but if she doesn’t remember doing so then that possible outcome may not have been explained to her in an acceptable way. For removing several teeth on a child, you’d think that a dentist would write out a treatment plan outlining exactly what was being done and why, and have the mother sign the document. Hell, my dentist writes out a treatment plan for anything more than a single filling. My first dental treatment (other than cleanings/fluoride treatment) was traumatic. Not because the dentist was cruel, but because I’d broken half my tooth off by falling off a bike. Treatment at the time consisted of putting in a post and building up the tooth. The dentist used IV Valium and was unhurried and calm and nice , but it was still scary as hell to have someone nailing a post into your my tooth (it felt like he was using a sledgehammer). I was 12 or 13 when that happened, and I still have dental anxiety/phobia. So I can’t imagine how bad it is for some of that dentist’s patients. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/25 "2015-04-30T13:15:53Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > And I find it very hard to believe that there’s no way for the dentist and his staff to be punished for this and the child compensated. I don’t think anyone’s said that. It appears that there won’t be a prosecution, but he can still have his license suspended or revoked by the state and will be civilly liable (assuming the accusations are true.) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/26 "2015-04-30T13:49:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It appears that there won’t be a prosecution, but he can still have his license suspended or revoked by the state and will be civilly liable (assuming the accusations are true.) [A criminal investigation has been opened.](http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/state-confirms-criminal-investigation-jacksonville/nk57z/) It was reported late last night. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/27 "2015-04-30T22:32:03Z")
THe guy’s English skills don’t give me much faith in his educational background. Is his degree even real? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/28 "2015-04-30T22:44:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The child’s testimony is inadmissible unless she is competent, and the younger the child the less likely she is to qualify. What if she had been sexually assaulted? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/29 "2015-05-01T22:27:13Z")
Not then either. I should note that under Florida law she is presumed to be competent. Children as young as five have been found competent before. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809/30 "2015-05-02T03:01:43Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > What if she had been sexually assaulted? Braces? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-situation-dentist-committing-assault-make-sense/718809.md?page=1)