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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    2

    Default Invisalign Malpractice

    My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Missouri

    Long story short, I am currently in an invisalign program with my dentists office, different dentist. 6 months into it the doctor has me come in for a checkup in which a dental hygienist tells me they need to do ipr on my teeth (filing between the bottom teeth to make room for movement) Before I even realized what was happening she was filing between my teeth with who knows what mechanical tool. The hygienist goes next door to ask the dentist if he needs to see me before I leave and he says that the IPR (inter-proximate removal) was not supposed to be be done for another 12 weeks and that he didn't need to see me. I leave without seeing the dentist responsible for treatment to find out i'm not satisfied with her work at all. More than 12 months after I began I'm here after some additional unfortunateness with this treatment. But what I believe I have is a medical malpractice case.

    A lot of people have told me not to pursue it, it's not worth my time etc. I've talked on the phone with multiple malpractice lawyers and they either don't seem interested or say they don't cover dental malpractice.

    Right now I just want to leave this office, be reimbursed for my $4000 and pursue something different. This is the situation I'm currently in.

    I told my dentist, different from the one responsible for treatment, that I wanted the buttons (bonding on the teeth to facilitate movement) removed by him because I would be more comfortable. His office worker presented me with a letter saying that he would not remove the buttons unless i signed a piece of paper which i'll type out below. I would appreciate your advice on what I should do, if I should pursue a case, and how I should pursue being reimbursed. At this time I'm not comfortable signing the letter so they will proceed.

    Letter:

    You came to our office wanting your buttons removed that were placed for invisalign treatment by dentist b. You requested the buttons removed by dentist a. You have said you are "not happy" because your lower teeth are not where they should be and wont ever be. (The sentence previous is not what I explained, i am not happy because of the incorrect, possibly over-extensive filing between the teeth)

    Dentist a is NOT (they capitalized) recommending to remove buttons, stopping treatment or refunding your money. Because treatment was done and charged by dentist b only he is responsible for financial decisions in this case.

    By signing this letter you understand dentist a's recommendations as written above.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Invisalign Malpractice

    Medmal suits are expensive to litigate; if an attorney won't take the case on contingency they're basically telling you that there either isn't a suit, or it's not worth litigating. That doesn't mean that you can't try to negotiate something however.

    What is Dentist B saying about it all?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Invisalign Malpractice

    You have explained to us that you received some work by a dental hygienist in advance of when the dentist would have ordered and completed that work, but you have not identified how you were harmed as a result. You have expressed dissatisfaction with your treatment following your apparently premature decision to end your treatment.

    You refer to "possibly over-extensive filing", but "possibly" isn't going to get you anywhere. To pursue any sort of case you would need to establish that the filing was excessive and not consistent with the standard of care. It remains possible that with the completion of your dental treatment you would find that the final result is acceptable.

    If you want to try to interest a lawyer in taking the case, you should try to find a qualified orthodontist who is willing to give the opinion that the original orthodontist violated the standard of care, and gives you an estimate for the correction of any improperly performed work. Due to the very high cost of malpractice litigation, lawyers are unlikely to consider the case unless you can document substantial damages. It is difficult to find lawyers who handle dental malpractice cases due to the fact that absent a serious problem (e.g., nerve damage) most cosmetic corrections are relatively inexpensive.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Invisalign Malpractice

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
    View Post
    Medmal suits are expensive to litigate; if an attorney won't take the case on contingency they're basically telling you that there either isn't a suit, or it's not worth litigating. That doesn't mean that you can't try to negotiate something however.

    What is Dentist B saying about it all?
    Dentist B is saying that they need to continue treatment to see if the results are acceptable more or less. Has also said that I would not be reimbursed for the full amount. I do not want to continue treatment.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    You have explained to us that you received some work by a dental hygienist in advance of when the dentist would have ordered and completed that work, but you have not identified how you were harmed as a result. You have expressed dissatisfaction with your treatment following your apparently premature decision to end your treatment.

    You refer to "possibly over-extensive filing", but "possibly" isn't going to get you anywhere. To pursue any sort of case you would need to establish that the filing was excessive and not consistent with the standard of care. It remains possible that with the completion of your dental treatment you would find that the final result is acceptable.

    If you want to try to interest a lawyer in taking the case, you should try to find a qualified orthodontist who is willing to give the opinion that the original orthodontist violated the standard of care, and gives you an estimate for the correction of any improperly performed work. Due to the very high cost of malpractice litigation, lawyers are unlikely to consider the case unless you can document substantial damages. It is difficult to find lawyers who handle dental malpractice cases due to the fact that absent a serious problem (e.g., nerve damage) most cosmetic corrections are relatively inexpensive.
    You as well as others have mentioned that this would be a tough case. I am not so much interested in litigation at this point. At this point I would like to stop treatment and be reimbursed. I am not comfortable with the care/office. So my question is, If I sign this letter, is this restricting me from negotiating to be reimbursed? Do I not have a right to quit treatment without signing something saying that dentist a is "not recommending to remove buttons, stopping treatment or refunding your money" etc? Should I re-write the letter and bring it to them?

    Ideally, I would have them do the final procedure so I could leave without signing anything and then negotiate. If I wasn't comfortable with my reimbursement I'd like to have the option to litigate in the future.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Invisalign Malpractice

    You can ask the orthodontist to reimburse you for any prepaid services under your contract, and see if he agrees. If he says "no", you can walk away, continue treatment with his office, or attempt to litigate.

    If you want to walk away from treatment but have the buttons removed by somebody who won't make you sign a letter stating that your actions are contrary to his advice, I suggest looking for yet another dentist. You can try to convince the second dentist to proceed without your signing a document, or with your signing an amended document, but I'm skeptical that he'll agree. Signing a letter from a dentist who is, in effect, urging you to continue your treatment and telling you that your choice to discontinue treatment and to have the buttons removed is a bad one is likely to negatively affect any future litigation..

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    3,212

    Default Re: Invisalign Malpractice

    The second dentist and any other dentist will want to ensure that if you're not happy after the buttons are removed. and/or if any problems stem from the buttons being removed that you don't have s case against them.

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