Dentist Negligence?
My wife went to get a tooth filled in September of last year. She immediately noticed the filling was too large and went back at the earliest opportunity about 4 days after that.
At the second appointment the filling was filed down but as time has moved on it has become apparent that the tooth itself was filed down as well and this has created a food trap. This is a minor issue as opposed to the actual problem.
She just went through the last 7+ months in pain and being unable to eat on the side of her mouth with the filling. She decided to try and outlast the pain because the dentist told her to use a sensitivity toothpaste to help. It only got worse. She was trying to get another appointment for about a month before finally getting one 3 weeks ago.
During this appointment a different dentist took an X-ray and told her the filling was too deep. Not only this but the nerve in the tooth is now dead. This dentist told her he needed to consult with the dentist that did the work before proceeding. There was no X-ray taken before the filling for the first appointment.
Cut to yesterday and the surgery's secretary rang her to cancel as the dentist who originally put the filling in has not responded to the second dentist.
3 weeks and a dentist in the same practice didn't bother to meet up and discuss his work. There was also no talk of the next steps in her care either.
Would this be considered negligence on the dentist's behalf?
She only waited so long because the dentist who filled her tooth and filed it down said it would be sensitive for a while after and originally she did feel relief as she was able to actually close her mouth after the second visit.
This dentist is not her usual one either - they only told her this the day before the appointment and considering how hard it is to get an appointment she kept it. Her normal dentist is the one who said the filling was too deep and the nerve was dead. He also told her she needs a root canal or extraction of the tooth.
Has anyone dealt with something similar legally? I think it's ridiculous from the practice and I'm encouraging her to look into it from a legal perspective as it has lowered her quality of life over the past few months and there has been no care plan to correct the shoddy work shared.
TIA for any advice.