Unauthorized dental work

[dragonmumof2]

Ds(almost 5 and ND) broke a back molar and had a SS crown put on. While the dentist had him in the back(we were not allowed to be with him) she put an additional 3 fucking crowns on without our permission. I didn't notice this until we got home, as when I saw ds after the work was done he was in a lot of pain so I was more concerned with comforting him than inspecting the work the dentist did. I did check his mouth once we got home and settled and I was furious. Gums were a bloody mess. 3 unapproved crowns(I stayed in the waiting room the entire time, she had every opportunity to come tell me if he needed additional crowns. She had specifically said beforehand he wouldnt need anything else done, as the other teeth looked great) I cleaned his teeth with wet gauze the next few days, and as the goop the dentist put on his gums cleared away, I noticed 3 out of 4 crowns have gum recession. The broken tooth is the worst, with the gum on the inside almost completely receded. I have not called the dentist, as I'm not sure if I should contact a lawyer first before talking to them. Everything I've read says that he will need a gum graft, which is a horror show in itself to think of putting him through that. I'm just at a loss that a dentist can just "decide" to do unauthorized work on your child. I do not want her to even be in the same room as my child, let alone to try to fix what she's done. I am waiting on a call back from the local(different)dentist to have him looked at to see what her opinion is.
Yabu-call the dentist that did the work
Yanbu-call the lawyer

Why did you leave a nd 4 year old alone?

i would take him to another dentist to check if there is an emergency work needed as a result of the crowns.

He had to be put under anesthesia for the procedure and they don't allow you to stay with them you have to stay in the waiting room

Your child is 4 having this work?

What country do you live in OP?

If you are in the Uk, was this an NHS dentist or private ?

Do 4 year olds even have molars? I thought there were all milk teeth with no route.

Yes he had a broken molar that the dentist said would need to be fixed or it would cause him problems when his permanent tooth came in, infection risk, could become painful etc

Was this in a general dental practice, or the community dental service or an emergency clinic at a dental hospital ?

I've had a LOT of dental work and only have one crown .. what's going on with his teeth?
Unusual for a dentist to do crowns like this unless filling too deep to fill and they may have put a tooth coloured crown on as it will last longer? Did he have cavities?

The dentist should NOT have done work without parental consent. Doesn't matter if NHS or private. Speak to a lawyer, definitely unethical at the very least. Don't go back to this dentist.

m receession is associated with poor oral hygiene and will not be the result of crowns just being fitted. Meaning the gums were recessed before. If the molar broke it probably had a very large cavity.

She may have realised the other teeth were also in a state and decided to do the work there and then so as not to risk anaesthetic twice. Which is very sensible.

Why are your child's teeth in this state in the first place?

I thought that a crown needed a mould making at a previous appointment, (unless it's different for first teeth), so you would have been aware that was happening.

Children's hospital

Why a lawyer 🙄
If he needed the work he needed it. Speak to the dentist who was almost certainly acting in your child’s best interests. YABU.

Not the ss crowns. They do them on children as the tooth will fall out anyway so they don't worry about how they look.

His gums were perfect before the crowns so no. And his teeth were fine except for the broken molar. I had discussed this all with her prior to the procedure starting.

Did you sign something before the treatment?

Guys pack it in with the judgement of her child’s teeth. Problematic oral hygiene is pretty common in ND children, which is due to a number of possible reasons: limited types of food due to aversions, fear of teeth brushing, medications to name but a few. The strategies/routines we have for our NT children may not be appropriate in ND children and I’m sure it’s not through parental laziness, otherwise why would she post.

@dragonmumof2 did you sign a consent form? If so, did it specify the specific tooth or include a caveat like +/- Proceed? Or additional procedures as necessary? It’s pretty common that something like that is added, although should be mentioned. It would depend on their consenting procedure. Was it done at a hospital?

Are you in the UK? Every dentist I've ever had (NHS, Bupa and independent) has explained what they are doing beforehand and how much it will cost.

Four crowns even on adults is major - I need some dentistry and have to have it on both sides but the treatment is being split because they won't numb both sides.

Did she decide to just go ahead rather than subject him to two rounds of anaesthesia? Did you sign a consent form?

What are you hoping to gain by instructing a solicitor?

If you’re after money I doubt you’ll get any sort of a big payout once the fees are covered, and that’s IF they are found to be negligent.

If you’re after improving care then I would suggest speaking to PALS at the hospital in the first instance. They can clarify exactly what treatment was done and why, and you can raise your concerns to the team and see what their response is.

I'm assuming that you have no dental training. If that is the case, you cannot possibly know by looking whether the work was required, if it was done properly, if there is an issue with the gums and if a graft is required.

Get a proper second opinion. You will work yourself into a state by Googling.

I think it would be worth a complaint so she can improve practice for future.
I’d be surprised if the consent form you presumably signed didn’t have some sort of caveat included for extra work needing doing

Thank you. Yes I signed the paperwork for the single crown nothing else. It shows clearly on the itemized preemptive bill I received the week before that it is for one crown only. She spoke to me right before the procedure and reiterated that she's doing one crown. Spoke to me after the procedure as well before I saw ds and never said a thing about additional crowns. It was at at a children's hospital.

This is in America/not UK?

"Thank you. Yes I signed the paperwork for the single crown nothing else. It shows clearly on the itemized preemptive bill I received the week before that it is for one crown only."

If OP was billed for the child's treatment, then this work was not done in the UK on the NHS, as there would have been no charge at the point of care.

So either the OP is not in the UK, or the work was done in a private hospital. Either situation - no point suggesting a complaint to PALS which is a NHS parient liaison service.