Searching this newsgroup for some info on the cost of getting crowns, I
stumbled on one of my old inquiries here. I submitted the following
topic (first post below) to this news group about six years ago.  Some
of you may recall it (Dr. Joel?).  If you search in this newgroup, the
gigantic thread is still there.

I thought you may want to hear what happened to my friend in Oregon
(now married to dentist in St. Louis!).

Truth be known she and I called several attorneys who told her she
might have a case but that it was too small as they required a
potential outcome of at least $10,000 to take it on and that would be
stretching it with this one. Plus they scared her with wanting money
upfront and warned of the hassle of potentially testifying at court,
etc.  If the "win" was not high enough, the remaining cost of the
attorney, professional witness, etc. would be out of her pocket.
Although both assured her it was a legit case, it would not yield
enough money for their trouble. So, before going through an attorney,
she approached the dentist directly about a settlement.  After
negotiating for over a year, I think the outcome was about $3000 to
cover emotional distress, etc. Interestingly, that year of back and
forth did not cool her jets on this one bit.

For a long time she refused to go to a dentist.  At least 2 years after
the incident.  When she finally returned with a sore tooth, she had
tons of work to be done...4 or 5 crowns and a few root canals. Who
knows if the time neglecting dental checkups, etc. contribued to all
that. Much, much more cost than that settlement could ever cover. I
think she should have at least used the money for some anxiety/fear
therapy or go to dentists that put you under while they work. By the
way, I'm not sure if she trusts her husband on the dental thing today.
I think she goes to someone else. Pretty emotionally complicated, I
guess.

As for myself, I have mixed feelings about the whole episode looking
back.  I think it was  stupid she ended up not going to a dentist for
so long out of fear and, I guess, rebellion. I can't believe how
defensive and angry I was in those earlier posts six years ago. It's
reall is a wonder what time and maturity can show you. I remember back
in 2000-2002 I had my own poor dental experience.  I had been going to
an old dentist for a number of years who told me everything looked
fine.  When he passed on, I was shocked to learn from the new dentist
(and two others I saw to verify) that I suddenly had a a gift of four
crowns, cavities, and a root canal. Yikes!  I think the negligence of
that old dentist was a far greater problem than the one my friend
faced! Such is life...

In the end, no one was probably a winner...and that's basically what
some of the posters said in the original thread. Then again, she could
have been more of a winner if she had taken responsibility to heal
herself after the settlement. Perhaps the experience made the dentist a
better dentist whether it was an accident or negligence. I hope so.

Here's the original post below...

J. Macrose
-------------------------

I have a friend in the Portland area who recently told me
about a story that scared the heck out of me.

During a regular cleaning of her teeth about a year ago, the
cleaning tool for spraying water (sorry, I don't know the
proper terminology) was ejected into her mouth and down her
throat!  This thing was over 3 inches long!  She had to
drive to the hospital where they were unable to get at it in
her stomach.  Fortunately, the item passed several days
later and did not obstruct anything.  I didn't believe her
until she faxed me a copy of her medical bills.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening?  I would think this
would be one of the worst nightmares for a dentist.  And I
was thinking, what are the legal ramifications with respect
to the dentist?  My friend doesn't think she will sue for
anything, but I think she's nuts!  I tell you, this whole
incident put years on her life spending time in the
hopsital, worrying, and staring at major surgery (if it
hadn't passed) to remove that thing just for getting her
teeth cleaned!!!!  Does she have a case?  How much would the
damages be?

J. Macrose