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[cumhea]

There are a LOT of details. If you would like more information please let me know. I tried writing everything out here and it wouldn't let me. The basics: I was injured because of very willful negligence by a dentist at a university dental clinic. I have been trying for over a year to get my teeth fixed (I'm still wearing the temporary crowns that are made to be worn for a few weeks/months max.. that were put on just over a year ago) At the recommendation of a number of people/agencies I did try to consult with malpractice attorneys. Once they learned who had done this I was told plain and simple, nobody is going to take a case against this university. I was even told on a more local level that if I pressed charges against the dentist that had treated me so brutally it wouldn't go anywhere because that particular dentist is from a rather affluent family around here. To make matters worse, I can not find any dentists to fix the mess that they made of my mouth. I did find one dentist out of town that was willing to see me ...since I didn't tell him who did the damage. At first he would not even do an exam, he took one look at my mouth and said to keep up with my diet of no solid foods (as if I had a choice) and the other things I was doing. He then advised me to let it heal for a month and then come back to see him. I did this and at that point he said that my gums were damaged beyond repair from the trauma and that I would need to have a complete gingivectomy :^( He said I did need other dental work (which I knew) but he wouldn't do anything until I saw a perio. Of course, I've not been able to find a perio either. I had been trying to get some sort of documentation that my maxilla had been fractured. I could feel that it was cracked. He took x-rays of my teeth and you could plainly see a small vertical fracture just under my nostril. He spoke rather broken English and didn't seem to understand why I was asking about the fracture but he said yes it is fractured, but it is "up and down, not side to side" so they don't usually do anything about that..it will heal up on it's own. (As if all of this miserable experience wasn't enough, I've since had a tooth break off. This was the reason I went to them in the first place, an old filling had fallen out and that tooth had chipped. They insisted that tooth could wait and focused instead on replacing 4 teeth ..3 of which looked fine and were not causing me any pain/discomfort whatsoever) Long story short. I need my teeth fixed...right. I've been told that there was a statute of limitations to file a malpractice claim but in the same breath was told that it wouldn't matter even if there wasn't...nobody is going to take a case against this university. I have filed complaints with my insurance and with the dental society. I've followed every step that I was told needed to be taken. However I am still sitting here on the verge of losing my teeth :^(

Some pictures of my injuries: http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/girlygirl333/guminjurycollage-1.jpg

I need to know what my options are at this point.

[tonibraxton]

There are a LOT of details. If you would like more information please let me know. I tried writing everything out here and it wouldn't let me. The basics: I was injured because of very willful negligence by a dentist at a university dental clinic. I have been trying for over a year to get my teeth fixed (I'm still wearing the temporary crowns that are made to be worn for a few weeks/months max.. that were put on just over a year ago) At the recommendation of a number of people/agencies I did try to consult with malpractice attorneys. Once they learned who had done this I was told plain and simple, nobody is going to take a case against this university. I was even told on a more local level that if I pressed charges against the dentist that had treated me so brutally it wouldn't go anywhere because that particular dentist is from a rather affluent family around here. To make matters worse, I can not find any dentists to fix the mess that they made of my mouth. I did find one dentist out of town that was willing to see me ...since I didn't tell him who did the damage. At first he would not even do an exam, he took one look at my mouth and said to keep up with my diet of no solid foods (as if I had a choice) and the other things I was doing. He then advised me to let it heal for a month and then come back to see him. I did this and at that point he said that my gums were damaged beyond repair from the trauma and that I would need to have a complete gingivectomy :^( He said I did need other dental work (which I knew) but he wouldn't do anything until I saw a perio. Of course, I've not been able to find a perio either. I had been trying to get some sort of documentation that my maxilla had been fractured. I could feel that it was cracked. He took x-rays of my teeth and you could plainly see a small vertical fracture just under my nostril. He spoke rather broken English and didn't seem to understand why I was asking about the fracture but he said yes it is fractured, but it is "up and down, not side to side" so they don't usually do anything about that..it will heal up on it's own. (As if all of this miserable experience wasn't enough, I've since had a tooth break off. This was the reason I went to them in the first place, an old filling had fallen out and that tooth had chipped. They insisted that tooth could wait and focused instead on replacing 4 teeth ..3 of which looked fine and were not causing me any pain/discomfort whatsoever) Long story short. I need my teeth fixed...right. I've been told that there was a statute of limitations to file a malpractice claim but in the same breath was told that it wouldn't matter even if there wasn't...nobody is going to take a case against this university. I have filed complaints with my insurance and with the dental society. I've followed every step that I was told needed to be taken. However I am still sitting here on the verge of losing my teeth :^(

Some pictures of my injuries: http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/girlygirl333/guminjurycollage-1.jpg

I need to know what my options are at this point.

Try talking to your state dental board if you have not yet. Some boards have procedures where they can take your complaint to the dentist and try and work something out. It is called peer review. Otherwise you may have to move on and seek treatment elsewhere. Sorry.