Substandard Dentistry: What is Hygienist's Legal Responsibility?
Dear Dianne,
I’ve been in dental hygiene for nine years. The first seven years, I worked with a dentist who did excellent clinical dentistry, and he took a lot of pride in his work. However, he was hard on all the staff members and handed out criticism liberally. We rarely heard a good word about our job performances. I finally had enough and decided to move on. My next job, where I currently work, is with a wonderful dentist who is very kind and caring. We are treated with utmost respect, and he often brags on us to patients. Most of our patients are older than 50 and have come to this practice for much of their lives. The problem is that his dentistry is, in my humble opinion, substandard. I find overhanging margins and recurrent decay regularly. I see decay on radiographs, and he’ll say, “Let’s watch that.” I’ve found many crowns with terrible margins, and I’m at a loss as to what to say. After all, he’s the dentist and I’m just an employee. My questions to you are: What is my legal obligation? When does substandard work turn into negligence? Is my license in danger from his substandard dentistry?...
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I’ve been in dental hygiene for nine years. The first seven years, I worked with a dentist who did excellent clinical dentistry, and he took a lot of pride in his work. However, he was hard on all the staff members and handed out criticism liberally. We rarely heard a good word about our job performances. I finally had enough and decided to move on. My next job, where I currently work, is with a wonderful dentist who is very kind and caring. We are treated with utmost respect, and he often brags on us to patients. Most of our patients are older than 50 and have come to this practice for much of their lives. The problem is that his dentistry is, in my humble opinion, substandard. I find overhanging margins and recurrent decay regularly. I see decay on radiographs, and he’ll say, “Let’s watch that.” I’ve found many crowns with terrible margins, and I’m at a loss as to what to say. After all, he’s the dentist and I’m just an employee. My questions to you are: What is my legal obligation? When does substandard work turn into negligence? Is my license in danger from his substandard dentistry?...
Click Here to Read More