Capitol Dental, P.C.

Revdex.com response to the complaint by *. [redacted] came in with a challenging clinical situation. He had broken a tooth and requested to have it extracted. Idiscussed with him that extracting the tooth could lead to complications because the x-ray showed the tooth wasso close to the sinus. He...

shared with me that when the tooth in front of this one was extracted he had a similarcomplication. Knowing this I told him I would section the tooth into individual roots in an attempt to prevent asinus exposure like he had with the previous extraction. By sectioning the tooth the goal is to remove each rootindividually, minimize trauma to the area, preserve the bone, and prevent the need to cut gum tissue or placesutures. Unfortunately, upon removing one of the roots he did have this unintended complication. I informed himof this while he was in the chair and recommended he give it time to heal. In majority of cases these will heal without further need for treatment within 30 days. When he left the office a clot had formed and bleeding was wellcontrolled. We talked that evening and he stated that he didn't want to wait, he wanted to have it treated. The nextday my office called to refer him to an oral surgeon to treat this challenging sinus exposure.
[redacted] has contacted me previously about this incident to share his requests and demands. He seems to beconvinced that by placing a simple suture a complex sinus closure procedure performed by a specialist could havebeen avoided. If this is the case it makes one wonder why the oral surgeon didn't simply place a suture. My liabilityinsurance company has reviewed all my records regarding this treatment and has assured me that all treatmentwas provided within, and even above, the standard of care. After discussions with [redacted] and an attempt atresolution he told me he is determined to "take this as far as he can". I'm sorry this complication occurred despiteactive attempts to prevent it and I'm unwilling to pay for his expenses when attention to his oral health could haveprevented the need for extraction in the first place.