I had work (badly) performed by a dentist who, I later learned, should have referred me to an oral surgeon rather than attempt the work himself. This dentist never even consulted with a specialist when I came back to him with serious problems. Then he dug his heels in and refused to correct those problems because "nobody could." He wouldn't agree to any form of reimbursement either.
Another dentist, two other oral surgeons, and my health insurance company stated that a bone graft was medically necessary. However, my dentist just carried on without one, and slapped a bridge over a tooth socket that had no bone due to an accident. I can't even begin to tell you how awful that is.
I wanted to view guidelines, but the web site for the American Dental Association doesn't display them, and it has no contact information for me to ask. Are there situations where a general dentist is obligated to refer a patient to an oral surgeon? Or can they all just declare themselves "competent" and carry on with anything? The second dentist referred me to a specialist in a heart beat: "You need to see someone who's qualified to do this," he'd said to me. He also immediately recognized that I needed a bone graft, which the first dentist never even mentioned in passing.
The laws are too stringent for me to pursue this as a medical malpractice claim. I'd just like to report this guy to someone, and I don't know how. Where do I go?
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