Question:
Recently my wife had a root canal done which has been completed.
The question is we just switched dentist and after they reviewed the
xray's from the previous dentist they stated that root canals were
never needed. So, I decided to contact another dentist in the area and
made an appointment for my wife, she went and showed the xrays, and
this dentist said from the xrays the work was defiantly not needed.
Well $$$$ later what can I do now? Should I contact the dentist whom
said she needed the work and tell them this or should I contact a
lawyer?
Answer:
Did dentist #2 and #3 have a crystal ball, tarot cards, ESP, a time
machine????
Root canal therapy is often done to address conditions that simply cannot be
seen on an x-ray...so there is no way they could have know if the root canal
was or was not needed after the fact. There are most certainly cases where
an x-ray will clearly show that root canal was needed, but the absence of
such signs on an x-ray is NOT an indicator that the treatment was
unnecessary. The early stages of endodontic pathology will often not show
any signs on an x-ray.
I think you should go back to #2 and #3 dentist and ask them to explain
exactly how they determined the root canal therapy wasn't needed. Let us
know what they say. At this point, and based on what you say, I find THEIR
opinions rather suspect.
Well my wifes xray doesn't show any problems either but her tooth is split
and it looks like she is heading for a root canal.
Reminding folks about the UCCI clause
that mentions the need to DOCUMENT the
diagnosis in those cases. UCCI took a
chargeback against a colleague/friend whose
records were not complete in that regard.
Perfect, just what I wanted to hear. See there wasn't really any pain
with the tooth, and the dentist (who did the root canal) based the
entire "needed root canal" from the xrays. They said the decay was
inside the tooth and since the two teeth were so close together it
could only be seen with an xray. Thanks for helping me prove my point.
So what do I do now? That's the only question I have, just answer it.
This is just "he said", "they said" so far. Saying, "I don't *think*
that tooth would have needed a root canal" is one thing. Saying, "It
is very doubtful that a root canal was needed" would even be possible.
Saying, "That tooth *did not* need a root canal" is very rarely possible.
It's hard to imagine someone out there doing root canals when they
know they aren't needed. If a dentist wanted to overtreat to increase
revenues, it would be much easier to just overdiagnose decay and push
crowns, bleaching, and veneers.
What do you do? Find a dentist you trust and move on with your lives.
Maybe you were ripped off. Maybe the next guys just want to look good
to get new patients. Maybe they just disagree. This isn't like she
lost a kidney. There is a chance that the first dentist was right and
certainly a good possibility that he can't be proven wrong. You could
contact the local dental society and ask about peer review. You could
contact an attorney, but this doesn't sound like a case one would like
to take.
We've all been lied to, oversold, scammed, robbed, and abused sometime
in our lives. When it happens (or you think it happens) you feel
violated and usually get mad. This leads to wondering how to get
revenge upon who just took advantage of you. Most of the time you can't
and living with all of the anger and hate further damages you body and
soul.
