Case Description

I consulted a new dentist in Jan. 2006 about a broken tooth, which was the only problem I was experiencing at the time. The dentist convinced me that extensive dental work was required in many areas of my mouth to avoid the total loss of my teeth. He informed me that, in his opinion, my former dentist had performed very shoddy work which needed to be corrected. I found this hard to grasp as I had been having regular check-ups and cleaning by my former dentist, who had recently re-located back to Hong Kong. I had no reason to doubt the judgement of this new dentist, however, and treatment commenced. Between Jan. 06 and Dec. 07 I had regular appointments for root canals, crowns and bridge work etc. Problems arose when I noticed the dentist was leaving the room during treatment, returning smelling of nicotine, and continuing treatment without the use of rubber gloves. During a root canal, the drill bit broke off and lodged deep in the canal of my tooth. I was not warned prior to surgery that this may occur. I was then referred to an Endontist to remove the drill bit and complete the root canal. This was at my own expense, which I found outrageous. A second root canal was performed by the dentist on another tooth. By the end of treatment, the cost incurred had reached over $10,000 (I have no dental insurance) and I was advised that more work was required at a later date. I relocated from Toronto to Peterborough in Dec. 07. I had been experiencing pain in the location of the second root canal, performed by the dentist, but felt it must be a neighbouring tooth. I consulted a dentist in Peterborough and was told the root canal had failed and would need to be repeated correctly. Xrays proved this. I had the Xray sent to the Toronto dentist who had me drive back to Toronto. He insisted on taking another Xray but did not appear to refer to it. He then told me the tooth had cracked and infection had gotten into the root (absolutely no evidence of this whatsoever). When I informed him I did not believe this, he offered to refund the cost of the root canal and the filling ($500) on the condition that I sign a release. I pointed out the cost of removing the amalgam filling, redoing the root canal properly (all the way to the tip of the root which it had not been) and refilling would cost three times this, at least, and refused his offer. I advised him I would be consulting a lawyer.