Dentist Lied to Me About Veneers
Posted by Annmarie SanSevero
I went to my dentist to get a smile makeover. We discussed in depth what I wanted and he suggested six porcelain veneers. I was excited about that. It turns out that that is not what happened. I should have been suspicious when he ground my teeth down to little nubs, because his website said that porcelain veneers do not require a lot of tooth preparation. Then one of my canines started to have problems. He said that the tooth is infected and has to be extracted, so now I need a dental implant for that tooth. Before getting the tooth extracted, I went to see a different dentist who told me that I do not have porcelain veneers, but porcelain crowns. So, my dentist lied to me. I have in writing he was providing veneers, but apparently he billed my insurance for crowns. His website shows them as two distinct procedures. Do I have any recourse for this?
Emily
Dear Emily,
First, let me say that I am sorry this happened to you. I do believe you have a malpractice case here. His documentation to you says that he is providing you with porcelain veneers. His website also shows that he knows the difference between porcelain crowns and porcelain veneers, so there is no way he can claim confusion. Even if he could it doesn’t really look great for a dentist to not understand the procedures in his own profession.
Because he gave you crowns instead of veneers, you did not give informed consent, which is a fundamental requirement in dental care. Plus, because he did dental crowns, you are stuck with those forever. You can’t get back the lost tooth structure. It also appears that he may have been too aggressive with the preparation, which resulted in you losing a canine tooth. Or, if the tooth already had a problem, he should have figured that out while doing diagnostics for the procedure. At the least, in that case he was negligent.
I suggest you take this information to an attorney and see what he or she says.
This blog is brought to you by Franklin, TN Dentist Dr. Christopher Weber.
