At what point do we hold dentist accountable for the work that they do? I have a lot of dental issues at 36 and was told that all my teeth need to be capped (by more than one dentist). When one tooth cracked the dentist and I decided to do 5 across the front and capped them all - supposedl fixing them all. Five months later one of the teeth completely fell out and the new dentist says all 5 are lose. They were not before... is there anything I can do? I was told only option is implant or less effective is a bridge. Thank you

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I have a similar dental situation where the dentist Dr. Brooks overprocessed my teeth to put laminates on. Ended up doing 2/3 caps and they broke wouldn't stay on and damaged other teeth in my mouth. The University of MN dental instructors recommended I get a lawyer (I have 4 dentists saying the first screwed up)and insisted I take this to the MN Dental Board. The original dentists malpractice insurance and two of the dental instructors at the U of M had me get a report from an unbiased "Board Certified" dentist (4th dentist) stating what Dr. Brooks did wrong. I also reported this to the Minnesota Board of Dentistry. The Malpractice Insurance Company has now told me verbally that they will not pay and no longer are required to pay anything for replacement of this work because I filed a report with the Board of Dentistry instead of just giving them a copy of the report -- until the Board takes disciplinary action against this dentist. That they can use the Board of Dentistry like a court decision... I don't believe this is a "law". The Board has also informed me that they are investigating "Other" complaints/issues with this dentist including his pre-billing practices. They would not tell me if other people filed similar compaints or if that was what they were investigating. I got referrals to lawyers who sometimes handle dental issue cases. These 4 lawyers say they really don't like to take dental cases because no one is really educated towards dental issues - just medical. And... if they would accept the case they charge between 60 and 85% of whatever may be awarded just because it is dental related. I have gone on my own to the Attorney General's Office and they have assigned an investigator to the insurance company issue. I have also filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Commerce who have also assigned an investigator to this case. The Dental Board is supposed to be meeting with the dentist at the end of April but can't assure me that he won't keep resetting his appointment out to a later date. The last time I sat in his office was the end of April four years ago and he is trying to postpone till the expiration date. He did mail me a letter saying to have the University of Minnesota send him the bill and he would take care of it. The University can not direct bill him. Also when I gave him a copy of the estimated bill he paid for 1-1/2 teeth that broke and forwarded me the insurance reimbursement payment for 2 teeth he billed for but never placed in my mouth and he never repaid me for the $800 I paid (my insurance company said they wouldn't pay twice on the same teeth) which I ended up getting done at the U of M. Questions: Should I also go to the Better Business Bureau about this? Might it prompt the insurance company to reimburse me? How about Care11 TV investigation team? or Channel 5? Is there a lawyer in Minneapolis who doesn't double or triple their fees for dental cases? I am tempted to file a lawsuit myself with the Hennepin County District Court. Which court should I file with. The reimbursement for the remaining money that should be given back is about $8000 not including the bottom teeth that were broken by the caps he inserted wrong (rotated so they hit bottom with misalignment therefore breaking bottom teeth) about $13000 in total? I have had to pay "twice" to have this work done - first to him and now to the U of M to do it right. Can I use the "date" on the letter he sent to me saying he would pay the bill to have the U of M or Dr. Schulte redo the work as the expiration date for this case? He never did replace the broken caps and he kept sending me to other dentists for a couple years to see what could be done to fix his mess then never did fix it. I believe he is stalling... M. Quick

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