Misdiagnosis of Dental Pain

Many patients present to a dentist complaining of dental pain .  It is important that dentists correctly manage dental pain in order to reach a correct diagnosis and provide the most appropriate treatment.

ESTABLISHING THE CORRECT DIAGNOSIS

In order for a dentist to be able to establish the most likely diagnosis, it is important that a dentist questions a patient to ask questions such as:

– When did it start
– Area of pain
– Associated symptoms
– Frequency of pain

By asking these questions this allows a dental practitioner to be able to try and identify the source of dental pain. In some cases it may be that the pain is not even related to the patient’s teeth and in which case a patient may be advised to see their GP.

The dentist should then carry out a clinical examination and in some cases other investigations such as x-rays may follow. We have acted for clients who have not had a chance to voice their concerns and a dentist has simply told them to return to the practice in a week if the symptoms continue but have not been given any diagnosis or reassurance.

PROBLEMS WHICH CAN OCCUR IF AN INCORRECT DIAGNOSIS IS PROVIDED

If a dental practitioner does not know what the cause of the dental pain is then it can lead to the following problems:

– Unnecessary antibiotics being prescribed and in some cases repeated unnecessary prescriptions.
– An extraction of a tooth or several teeth, when there was no clinical or radiological reason for the extraction.
– Unnecessary treatment, such as root canal treatment
– Repeated trips to a dental practice, which may necessitate time of work.

OUR EXPERIENCE

The Dental Negligence Team has recovered substantial sums of compensation for clients who have suffered unnecessary injury and loss due to misdiagnosis of dental pain. In one of our recent cases, we acted for a client who attended his dentist for a re-filling of his tooth and then a few weeks later he was in pain and went back to his dentist.

His dentist advised him that the pain was emanating from a different tooth and applied a dressing to the tooth. It was later established that our client’s continued pain was indicative of having suffered a reaction to the initial treatment and this had not been recognised by the first dentist who treated our client or the later dentist who saw our client on another occasion.  Our client received compensation for the prolonged pain he suffered as the dentists who treated him had failed to carry out adequate investigations to establish the cause of his pain when he first attended.

If you have received an incorrect diagnosis when you have been suffering from dental pain, which has caused you injury and suffering then please contact the Dental Negligence Team who will be happy to assist and advise on the prospects of successfully bringing a dental negligence claim.