I had a new crown put on to replaced the old one, that's what the Dentist convinced me to do. This was done is November 2007, in June I noticed that there was air bubbles coming from the tooth and an odor so I called the Dentist and informed their office of what was taking place. The office manager told me to come in and that I don't need an appointment. I had vacation end of June beginning of July which I visited the office to take care of this situation. What was said to me after was very disturbing, the dentist told me that my teeth broke and it looks very bad, I asked how can my teeth be broken and this is a new crown. The bottom line is after he ran out of excuses he then told me that he did not find it necessary to inform me of an infection forming in my gum because I did not have any insurance and it would cost a lot of money if he had to refer me elsewhere. I told the Dentist that he is stressing me out and I am not pleased with what he has done. He went and got an opinion from another Dentist and came back saying that he would pay 75 and I pay 75 and he would have the crown reconstructed. There is no mention of how to treat this infection or cyst in the gum, what is really going on with Dentistry today and can you tell he how to handle this situation as I am going for a second opinion next week.

First--Go to a DIFFERENT dentist and get this fixed immediately.

Second--Sue him for malpractice. He even admitted that he was in the wrong, he took short cuts and misinformed you on PURPOSE.

Third--I'm so very sorry, dentists like him are the reason SO many people are afraid of dental procedures.

I would suggest you contact you states Dental Licensing Board. You can file a complaint with them. They will look into it, there may be a hearing, the dentist will have to refund you any money you've paid the him for this particular tooth, he may have his license revoked temporarily and will probably have to do some continuing education to build his skills in this particular area before he can get his license back. Doing it this way will save you the cost of a lawyer.

Make sure you document EVERYTHING. Dates, who you saw, what was done, who you spoke to and what was said, etc. Keep all of your receipts for ANY treatment done for this tooth by ALL dentists you see (you will probably get reimbursed once the Complaints Committee gets this settled).

Now, with this all being said, I am telling you how things happen with dentists here in Ontario, Canada and I hope that all dental licensing boards are the same.

Make sure you have this infection treated (sounds like a root canal is needed) as it can cause serious health problems.

We here in Canada are always amazed how quick Americans are to "sue".

The fact that he said that "he did not find it necessary to inform me of an infection forming in my gum because I did not have any insurance and it would cost a lot of money if he had to refer me elsewhere" makes it easy for you to report him to the state licensing board and bring legal actions against him.

He will deny having the conversation though. You will need to get hold of the x-ray which might show evidence of some pathology.

Get in touch with a lawyer first.

Definitely CHANGE your dentist. Your case against him will become weak if you keep on going back to him to seek remedy. That will imply that you thought he was doing the right thing all along and felt comfortable going back to him.

If you go to another dentist you will get the required treatment to get you out of infection and pain.

Note: We, the Americans are quick to "sue" because: 1. here people are more knowledgeable about their rights, 2. we have more rights exercised because of the awarenesss of the patients' rights, 3. universal health care does not exist here, which actually takes away more rights, 4. the medical and dental treatment is so expensive in the US that a patient CAN demand better service.

Sounds like a crook, I'd never do that!