California Dental Association (cda) Peer Review

[Hyun-Su]

My wife has suffered from chronic headaches for more than a year now. Her medical doctors(PCP and specialist) have confirmed that these severe headaches are as a result of her sinuses getting aggravated because too much material was pushed into them during the root canal procedure done at her dentist's office. Her medical doctors have also confirmed using CAT scan that there is still lot of material in her sinuses. Unfortunately, they are not even sure when she will be able to recover from this sinus problem. In their expert opinion it can take from few months to a couple of years before the extra material drains off naturally!

My wife wanted to sue her dentist but was unable to find a dental malpractice lawyer. Her new dentist suggested that she request California Dental Association(CDA) for a peer review of her root canal procedure. He is of the opinion that once the peer review is complete and the old dentist is found at fault, dental malpractice lawyers would be willing to take my wife's case.

However, while filling the peer review application we noticed  California Evidence code section 1157, that says "neither the records not any proceedings relating to this matter of the dental society's Peer Review Committee, or of the CDA's council on Peer Review can be provided or used to reveal information in any manner.?es this mean that the dental malpractice lawyer will be unable to use the outcome of CDA's peer review?

Will the outcome of the peer review help us find a dental malpractice lawyer? If not, is it worthwhile going through the peer review process?

Any other suggestion?

[Greg]

In the past couple of years the medical malpractice insurance companies have managed to pass laws restricting release of 'confidential' medical information. All medical/dental practitioners and hospitals have been using this law as a protection. So, forget the Peer Review bunch.

You are in California. I forget his name but in the SF yellow Pages is a dental malpractice lawyer who is also licensed as a dentist. Call him. I'm pretty sure he will help you. If not, then even if it sounds crazy, call your County Dental Society and ask them for the names of lawyers who do dental malpractice work. You may get help there. You should be able to interest a lawyer. The biggest problem is that most malpractice lawyers shy away from dental stuff because there is so little money in these cases. Keep trying for a lawyer. I don't know why those doctors who say her sinuses will take a year to drain don't refer her to an ENT man of the old school. Sinuses can be drained, and antibiotics installed directly into the sinuses. This is especially true of the turbinates. New ENT guys apparently have been taught to rely on antibiotics, but these can not infiltrate stuffed sinuses(it shouldn't take a brain surgeon to figure that one out). You have to look for some old ENT guy who has a drainage setup in his office. Hunt for one through the Yellow pages, or again, call the local State Society of ENT(otolaryngologists today) and see what you can develop. Maybe a Medical/Dental School can help.

This puncture of the turbinates during root canals is becoming common. It results from over zealous dentists who whistle while the drill works.