Columbus Dental Malpractice Lawyers | Kisling, Nestico & Redick

Q: Do I Need an Affidavit of Merit for a Dental Malpractice Case?

Yes. Ohio Civil Rule 10(D)(2) requires a dental malpractice complaint to include an Affidavit of Merit, a sworn statement from a qualifying expert, usually another dentist, confirming that the provider breached the standard of care and that the breach caused your injury. Without a proper affidavit, the court can dismiss your case. KNR retains the appropriate dental expert, secures the affidavit, and files it with your complaint.

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36% of Americans have a fear of dental procedures. Even without dentophobia, however, you likely agree a trip to the dentist isn’t the most exciting way to spend time. Still, most of us recognize the importance of oral health and trust dentists to provide quality care.

Unfortunately, a dental provider could betray that trust any time you visit. If you’re a victim of dental malpractice in Ohio, you may be entitled to compensation.

Proving negligence in a dental malpractice case is challenging. The experienced Columbus dental malpractice attorneys at Kisling, Nestico & Redick can guide you through the process and help you secure maximum compensation. Call our Columbus personal injury lawyers at (614) 487-8669 to schedule a free, no-risk consultation.

What Is Dental Malpractice?

Dental malpractice is a form of medical malpractice. Both involve the negligence of a healthcare professional.

Columbus dentists and other dental care providers have to treat patients with a standard of care. They might injure a patient if they do not follow proper steps and medical protocols.

While there are many ways this can occur, some of the most common examples of dental malpractice include:

Failure to Diagnose

Dental professionals might fail to diagnose a dental condition promptly or accurately. The longer you are undiagnosed, the longer you go untreated, and the more likely you will face serious complications.

For example, if you have gum disease and your dental care provider does not diagnose it, you could experience receding gums, bone infections, tooth loss, and more.

Anesthesia Errors

Before most dental surgeries, you will receive local anesthesia (novocaine). Your dental health professional should know the correct dosage and injection method to numb you appropriately.

If they give too much anesthesia or inject it improperly, you could suffer injuries such as lasting nerve damage. If too little anesthesia is given, you might be in significant pain during the procedure.

Surgical and Extraction Issues

A serious type of dental malpractice involves improper tooth extraction or other oral surgery errors. For example, an oral surgeon might accidentally remove the wrong tooth, break the jawbone, or cause excessive bleeding.

Equipment Negligence

Dentists can cause serious health issues if they do not properly clean and sterilize instruments or use the incorrect tool during a procedure.

Lack of Informed Consent

Dental professionals must obtain a patient’s informed consent before performing a procedure. Informed consent involves giving the patient relevant information about treatment and only proceeding if the patient agrees.

Dentists who fail to discuss the possible risks or complications before performing a procedure may be liable for malpractice.

Medication Errors

If a dentist or pharmacist makes an error regarding your dental treatment medication, you can suffer serious harm, including fatal injuries.

Common Ohio Dental Malpractice Injuries

Unfortunately, dental malpractice can cause significant harm. Common injuries include:

Nerve or tissue damage, possibly leading to paralysis or permanent loss of feeling in the face, lips, or tongue.
Illnesses such as oral cancer, which can spread when a dentist fails to catch the warning signs early.
Tooth loss caused by botched extractions, untreated decay, or advanced gum disease.
Infections that develop from unsterile instruments, retained tooth fragments, or untreated post-operative wounds.
Chronic pain in the jaw, teeth, or face that lingers long after the original procedure.
Structural damage to the jawbone, surrounding teeth, or soft tissue that requires corrective surgery.

Recovering from these injuries can involve expensive medical bills and time-consuming treatments. You might wonder how to pay for the cost of recovery. KNR is here to help.

Dental Nerve Injuries

Some of the most serious dental malpractice cases involve damage to the lingual or inferior alveolar nerves, which control feeling in the tongue, lips, chin, and lower lip. When these nerves are bruised, stretched, or severed, the result can be paresthesia (lasting numbness or tingling), a burning sensation, or loss of taste.

Nerve injuries often follow wisdom-tooth extractions, dental implant placement, or anesthetic injections that are administered too deep or in the wrong location. Some patients recover over several months, but others are left with permanent sensory loss that affects eating, speaking, and daily life.

Dental Implant Failure

A dental implant should restore your bite and your confidence, but a poorly planned or poorly placed implant can do the opposite. Implants fail when a provider positions the post incorrectly, drills into a nerve or sinus, or fails to diagnose insufficient bone density before surgery.

Infection around the implant site, known as peri-implantitis, can also cause the implant to loosen and the surrounding bone to deteriorate. Correcting a failed implant frequently means removal, bone grafting, and a second surgery, all at significant cost and discomfort to the patient.

Post-Extraction Infections

An infection after a tooth extraction is not always normal healing. When a socket is left exposed, a clot is dislodged, or instruments are not properly sterilized, bacteria can take hold. This can lead to dry socket, a painful condition that delays healing, or osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection of the jaw.

Severe infections may spread to the bloodstream or deeper tissues of the head and neck. Prompt diagnosis matters, and a dentist who ignores clear signs of infection or fails to prescribe appropriate treatment may be responsible for the harm that follows.

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KNR Can Help With Your Dental Malpractice Claim

You can file a claim to help recover compensation after a dental injury. Here are a few elements of a dental malpractice claim that KNR can help with:

Prove Dental Negligence

To prove negligence, you must prove the dentist breached their standard of care. Breaching the standard of care typically means the dentist acted in a manner that another dentist with similar experience would not have done in similar circumstances.

KNR can help prove negligence in your case, which involves showing:

There was a duty from the dentist to the patient. There must be a care provider-patient relationship between you and the dentist. This relationship would require them to provide adequate, evidence-based care.
The dentist breached the standard of care. The dentist must have acted in a way another care provider would not have.
The patient suffered injuries. You must have measurable damages to file a claim. Some patients believe they can file a malpractice claim simply because the care provider made an egregious error. This may be worth reporting to the Ohio State Dental Board, but you do not have a claim unless you are injured.
The injuries can be linked to the breach. You must be able to prove that your injuries are a result of the dentist’s breach of the standard of care.

Submit an Affidavit of Merit

When you file a complaint of dental malpractice in Columbus, you must also submit an Affidavit of Merit under Ohio Civil Rule 10(D)(2). This is a sworn statement from a qualifying expert witness, typically another dentist, who is familiar with the standard of care owed by dental providers.

The affidavit must confirm that the expert has reviewed the available medical records, that the dentist breached the applicable standard of care, and that the breach caused your injuries. Without it, the court can dismiss the case. KNR retains the appropriate dental expert, obtains the affidavit, and files it with your complaint so your claim meets this strict procedural requirement from the start.

Handle Dental Insurance

You will likely seek compensation through the dentist’s insurance rather than the dentist themselves. Most dental practices have substantial insurance policies and dealing with adjusters can be overwhelming. KNR’s legal team has in-depth experience with dental malpractice claims and negotiation skills.

It is important to note that dentists aren’t required to carry malpractice or professional liability insurance in Ohio. If needed, you may pursue compensation through a lawsuit or other means. Our trial lawyers are experienced in lawsuits and have successfully recovered compensation for many injury victims.

Recover Dental Malpractice Compensation

Through an insurance claim or lawsuit, KNR will fight hard for you to recover financially. Your attorney will help you obtain compensation for your damages. These are your losses resulting from a dental injury.

Damages in a Columbus dental malpractice case can be economic and non-economic. Economic damages are easily attributed to a number value, such as lost income or medical bills. Non-economic damages are more intangible, including pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, and more.

KNR’s Legal Team Will

Investigate, collect evidence, and find those at fault.
Interview witnesses, medical professionals, and experts to show how your life was impacted.
Communicate with the insurer, clarify liability, and pursue max compensation.
Determine the full and fair value for your dental injury, what you lost and deserve.
Keep you informed and involved. KNR is available by phone, text, email, or Zoom.
Protect your rights and, if necessary, take your case to court.
Never charge you upfront. If there’s no recovery, there’s no cost.
We use every available resource so you can recover physically and financially.

If a dentist in Columbus has left you injured, you do not have to sort out the medicine and the law on your own. Call our dental malpractice lawyers at 1-800-HURT-NOW for a free consultation and let us handle the rest.

What to Do If You Suspect Dental Malpractice

If you believe a dentist harmed you, a few early steps can protect both your health and your claim:

Request your complete dental records. Ask for your charts, x-rays, treatment notes, and billing history before they can be altered.
Get a second opinion. Have an independent dentist or oral surgeon evaluate the injury and document what went wrong.
Document your symptoms. Keep a dated log of pain, numbness, infection, and any follow-up treatment, along with photos when relevant.
Be careful what you say. Avoid discussing fault with the original practice or its insurer, since those statements can be used against you.
Contact KNR. Reach our Columbus dental malpractice lawyers promptly so we can preserve evidence and protect your deadline to file.

Columbus, Ohio Dental Malpractice FAQs

What Is the Deadline to File a Dental Malpractice Claim in Ohio?

Dental malpractice is treated as medical malpractice under Ohio law, so the Ohio statute of limitations gives you one year from the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury to file your claim (ORC 2305.113). This discovery rule matters because some dental injuries, such as a missed oral cancer or a slow infection, are not obvious right away.

A separate four-year statute of repose generally bars claims filed more than four years after the negligent treatment, even if the injury was discovered later. This one-year-from-discovery rule is different from Ohio’s general two-year personal injury deadline, so it is important to speak with an attorney quickly.

Do I Need an Affidavit of Merit for a Dental Malpractice Case?

Yes. Ohio Civil Rule 10(D)(2) requires that a dental malpractice complaint include an Affidavit of Merit. This is a sworn statement from a qualifying expert, usually another dentist, confirming that the provider breached the standard of care and that the breach caused your injury.

Without a proper affidavit, the court can dismiss your case before it ever reaches the facts. KNR identifies and retains the appropriate dental expert, secures the affidavit, and files it with your complaint so your claim satisfies this requirement.

What Is My Columbus Dental Malpractice Claim Worth?

Every dental malpractice claim is different, and its value depends on the severity of the injury and how it affects your life. Economic damages, such as lost income and medical and corrective treatment costs, are generally not capped in Ohio.

Noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, are capped for medical claims under ORC 2323.43, generally at $350,000 per plaintiff or $500,000 per occurrence, with higher limits available for catastrophic injuries like permanent disfigurement or loss of a bodily function. Our attorneys evaluate every category of loss to pursue the full value of your case.

Can I Sue a Dental Hygienist or Assistant for Malpractice?

Yes. Dental hygienists and assistants are considered medical professionals who owe patients a standard of care. If a hygienist or assistant causes injury by acting carelessly or outside the bounds of their training, they can be held liable for your dental malpractice injuries.

In many cases the supervising dentist or the dental practice may also share responsibility, which can affect how compensation is pursued.

What Should I Do If I Think My Dentist Committed Malpractice?

Start by requesting your full dental records and getting a second opinion from an independent provider to confirm what went wrong. Document your symptoms and treatment, and avoid discussing fault with the original practice or its insurer.

Then contact a Columbus dental malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. Early action helps preserve evidence and protects your one-year filing deadline under Ohio law.

Contact Our Dental Malpractice Attorneys

A Columbus dental malpractice accident can be painful for you and your pockets. An attorney is often the best resource for you to secure full compensation after a dental accident injury. The Columbus injury lawyers at Kisling, Nestico & Redick are here to learn more about your case. As one of Ohio’s largest personal injury firms, with attorneys and support staff serving clients across the state, KNR has the resources to take on dental practices and their insurers. Time is limited in your claim, so don’t wait to take action.

Schedule a free consultation with our dental malpractice lawyers. Call KNR at (614) 487-8669 or 1-800-HURT-NOW, or use our online contact form.

Columbus, Ohio Dental Malpractice Lawyers