Rise In Number Of Erroneous Extractions
The Dental Defence Union (DDU) has recently warned that dentist should consider their actions before pulling out a patient’s tooth, as the number of erroneous extraction claims rises.
Between 2006-2011 the DDU has received 138 claims, with over a doubling of the number of claims from the year 2006 (21) to 2011 (57).
The most common reasons for issued claims are:
- The dentist did not remove the tooth causing dental pain
- The dentist removed the wrong tooth after misreading a referral letter or chart.
- The dentist removed a tooth unnecessarily when a tooth could have been saved.
- The dentist had not received proper consent from the patient.
On average more than £7,300 was the settlement price per claim, with 56 claims currently having been made to the tune of £413,000. Of the remaining claims, 51 are still active and 31 were discontinued after they were closed or were outside the 3 year limitation.
The largest payout was £23,000 worth of compensation, given to a patient whose incisor was removed rather than their pre-molar.
The DDU found that the main reason for such errors was a lack of communication between patients and dentists, especially in regards to orthodontic extraction, with 24 of the cases received concerning such mistakes.
The DDU are therefore advising dentists to take their time in matters concerning extraction and make sure lines of communication are well maintained.
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