Is Not Checking a Patient’s Medical History Considered Dental Malpractice?

Dental malpractice can be of various types, some more evident than others. Suppose a dentist extracts the wrong tooth, puts you under too much anesthesia, or causes damage to your oral nerves during a procedure. In that case, it will be a case of dental malpractice. But other cases may seem to be minor on the surface but can have severe effects.

According to OC dental malpractice attorney Dane Levy, going through the entire past medical history of a patient is a mandatory duty of every doctor, dentists included. And all dentists know this. So any dentist who did not pass through this step did it deliberately, either due to their carelessness or forgetfulness.

Why is it important to check the medical history of a patient? It’s mostly to know whether it is okay to use anesthesia or another drug during the procedure. If a patient is under certain medications, or say if they had a heart attack recently, putting them under anesthesia can cause severe damage and may even lead to death.

So Dane Levy believes that not checking medical history or failing to align the treatment according to the specific medical condition of a patient definitely counts as dental malpractice. However, it is important to remember that the patient has to reveal every important detail about their medical history to the dentist if asked. You should keep everything private and remember to bring a medical report. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to win the case.

If you’re in California, you can consult California dental malpractice attorney Dane Levy from Levy Law Firm to learn whether your case qualifies or not. Having an experienced lawyer like him by your side will surely help you lead the case.