Although medical malpractice is well known and continues to be a crisis in the country, dental malpractice occurs in the category of its own and does not generally reflect the trend going on in the healthcare market in general. Although dental malpractice does exist, insurance companies only write policies for dental malpractice if they also write policies for physicians. Still, if you find yourself the patient of a dentist whom you think has committed dental malpractice, you may be in need of a dental malpractice lawyer.

Claims for dental malpractice have not risen as sharply as medical malpractice claims, but continue to be pretty steady. The claims and resulting awards are generally smaller than with medical malpractice simply because the circumstances are typically less life-threatening. Very simply put, dental malpractice occurs because improper treatment or services have been performed, or the dentist has failed to detect or properly diagnose symptoms and conditions. The types of injuries include damage to the lips, jaw, tongue, and perhaps also the nerves in those areas, as well as failure to detect oral cancer. Improperly applied anesthetics can also cause injury or even death.

A patient has a right to expect professional and accurate diagnosis and treatment when they visit a medical professional, either a doctor or a dentist. If the dentist does not meet that responsibility, there may be grounds for a dental malpractice lawsuit. Not every little thing that a dentist does wrong may warrant a lawsuit, but if the injury is severe or permanent, you may wish to consider a dental malpractice lawyer to review it, who can advise you as to whether you have grounds to pursue it further or not.

The most serious case of dental malpractice is when the end result of improperly applied procedures result in the patient's death. This can be due to anesthesia being incorrectly applied, or as a result of complications from a botched procedure, which can allow infections to set in.

Oral surgery is covered here as well, where the potential for permanent damage is typically even greater, especially damage to facial or tongue nerves, and possibly even the tongue itself. If this occurs, there can be a severe loss of sensation which may include difficulty in talking, swallowing, and/or eating.

Patients can also be injured from dental extractions, or a dentist may remove a healthy tooth by mistake when he or she meant to extract a decayed or otherwise damaged tooth. This can be serious, because unnecessary tooth loss can lead to other complications. In some cases, dental malpractice occurs when a dentist fails to do something such as to diagnose and treat periodontal disease or oral cancer. Still another malpractice situation can occur if a dentist performs treatment to which the patient did not consent.

In some cases, improper orthodontic procedures are done on adults or children, and this, too, can be defined as malpractice. Orthodontists are required to present alternatives to patients, and in some cases, can improperly remove teeth instead of presenting other less radical options to aid in teeth straightening. When orthodontics are improperly done, this can also lead to TMJ syndrome or headaches that will not go away.

If you feel you have been a victim of dental malpractice or if you are the representative of someone who has been, it may be in your best interests to contact a dental malpractice lawyer. He or she can help you determine whether or not you have a case, depending on the cause of the malpractice and what if any permanent injury was suffered. He or she can also discuss any options you have in pursuing a claim against the dentist in question.