A 28 year-old woman visited a dental clinic to have 3 upper molars removed. Due to a mistake by the dentist and clinic, the dentist negligently removed all of the woman’s upper teeth. Article.
Because of this clear case of dental malpractice, the victim has lost all of her upper teeth (of which 13 were apparently in good condition), endured tremendous amounts of pain; will be forced to undergo future corrective surgeries, and suffered from potential future medical complications such as her sinus cavity sagging due to the missing teeth and her facial bones moving because of the decreased bony structure.
Recently, a jury awarded the victim $2 million in damages. The money will be used to compensate this victim of dental malpractice for her pain and suffering and loss of her body parts; and to help finance the future dental procedures, gum surgeries, and other corrective procedures that the plaintiff must undergo in order to replace all of her upper teeth.
All dental malpractice cases in Georgia must be filed with an affidavit completed by an expert who opines about the facts of the case and testifies to at least one act of dental malpractice which caused or substantially contributed to the injuries that the plaintiff is complaining of in the lawsuit. In the present case, either a general dentist, oral surgeon, or other type of dentist can be the affiant, so long as the expert performs the same procedures as the one at issue in the case and which forms the basis for the dental malpractice claim. Since the injuries in this case were caused by negligent tooth extractions (a procedure that most dentists perform) the expert could be a general dentist, oral surgeon, or periodontist. The magic language in these situations is that there is substantial overlap as to what procedures these types of dentists perform. In addition, dentistry, unlike the medical profession, does not have sub-specialties.
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