I posted this several months ago, but a lot has happened as a result of the incident, so I wanted to come back and see what advice you all would have.
A little background: DD(6) had surgery in Nov to remove a primary molar that never erupted (it should have come in around 2). We first became aware of it in July of last year. We have seen 3 different pediatric dentists, an orthodontist, and an oral surgeon who all said it needed to come out. We have had "regular" xrays, 2 sets of panoramics, and a new "3D" cone scan (which I paid for since insurance didn't cover) to get the best possible information before she had surgery to remove the tooth.
The 45 minute procedure turned into closer to 2 hours (with no update), and when the doctor came out to the waiting room, he informed us that he had pulled the wrong tooth! Instead of a baby tooth, he pulled an adult molar. He said he was able to "put it back in place" and he's fairly sure it will develop and erput as normal, but needless to say, we are really concerned. Aside from the fact that she was under anesthesia twice as long, she had more stitches and a longer recovery, we now have to worry whether this tooth will continue to grow and be fine or possibly die and then who knows what. Since it's not supposed to erupt until she's around 10, it will be years before we know the outcome.
So ...since all that went down, we discovered that she had some amount of jaw bone loss during the surgery, so much that the gum tissue had nothing to reattach to, so the surgery site ended up being a "flap" of gum tissue that trapped food and became inflamed. Then the tooth adjacent to removed tooth had so little bone support that the gum receded, exposing the entire root, it became loose, and yesterday it had to be pulled and she had sutures put in. That tooth shouldn't have been lost until she was 10 - she now has no "chewing" teeth on that side of her mouth for 4+ years.
Needless to say, we're pretty upset. The situation has gone from bad to worse, and we feel like everyone is downplaying what's happened and all the work (more xrays, orthodontics, possibly more surgery and a dental implant) down the road. While the oral surgeon did verbally offer to take care of any problems that come from him removing the wrong tooth, we're concerned that when it comes down to it, he's going to argue that this was normal risks of the surgery and not actuaaly actually caused by his mistake. We just want to do what's the best interest of our daughter, but at this point, I'm worried we're the only ones.
So if this was your child, how would you proceed from here?
Thanks!
A little background: DD(6) had surgery in Nov to remove a primary molar that never erupted (it should have come in around 2). We first became aware of it in July of last year. We have seen 3 different pediatric dentists, an orthodontist, and an oral surgeon who all said it needed to come out. We have had "regular" xrays, 2 sets of panoramics, and a new "3D" cone scan (which I paid for since insurance didn't cover) to get the best possible information before she had surgery to remove the tooth.
The 45 minute procedure turned into closer to 2 hours (with no update), and when the doctor came out to the waiting room, he informed us that he had pulled the wrong tooth! Instead of a baby tooth, he pulled an adult molar. He said he was able to "put it back in place" and he's fairly sure it will develop and erput as normal, but needless to say, we are really concerned. Aside from the fact that she was under anesthesia twice as long, she had more stitches and a longer recovery, we now have to worry whether this tooth will continue to grow and be fine or possibly die and then who knows what. Since it's not supposed to erupt until she's around 10, it will be years before we know the outcome.
So ...since all that went down, we discovered that she had some amount of jaw bone loss during the surgery, so much that the gum tissue had nothing to reattach to, so the surgery site ended up being a "flap" of gum tissue that trapped food and became inflamed. Then the tooth adjacent to removed tooth had so little bone support that the gum receded, exposing the entire root, it became loose, and yesterday it had to be pulled and she had sutures put in. That tooth shouldn't have been lost until she was 10 - she now has no "chewing" teeth on that side of her mouth for 4+ years.
Needless to say, we're pretty upset. The situation has gone from bad to worse, and we feel like everyone is downplaying what's happened and all the work (more xrays, orthodontics, possibly more surgery and a dental implant) down the road. While the oral surgeon did verbally offer to take care of any problems that come from him removing the wrong tooth, we're concerned that when it comes down to it, he's going to argue that this was normal risks of the surgery and not actuaaly actually caused by his mistake. We just want to do what's the best interest of our daughter, but at this point, I'm worried we're the only ones.
So if this was your child, how would you proceed from here?
Thanks!
(of course that was the first we heard of that after 2 panoramics, numerous bitewings, and some new "cone" scan before the surgery). He said it was healing fine, but shortly after that, we found the tooth with the exposed root. There was some discussion of grafting, but since these are baby teeth that will eventually come out, the adult teeth will bring in more bone, allowing the gum to reattach. In the meantime, all this has happened.
