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drmikemaroon has just posted in the In the News! forum of ACE Dental World under the title of Rotten teeth, after 11 years in braces, lead Oregon man to sue for $185,100.
This thread is located at http://www.acedentalforum.com/forum/threads/1172-Rotten-teeth-after-11-years-in-braces-lead-Oregon-man-to-sue-for-185-100
Here is the message that has just been posted:
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Devin Bost finally has straight teeth -- but after 11 years of wearing braces, many of them are rotten through.
That's according to a $185,100 lawsuit filed on behalf of the 22-year-old, who claims a Eugene orthodontist treated Bost's crooked teeth with braces from ages 7 to 18. Orthodontists usually treat patients with braces for about two years.
The lawsuit states that Bost has suffered serious tooth decay and periodontal disease from all of the years his teeth were covered.
"What I'm told by the experts is, 'You can't do this. You can't keep them on that long. It's just not done," said Bost's Portland attorney, David Hollander.
Some of Bost's teeth will need to be yanked out and replaced with implants, Hollander said, but that may not be possible in some areas of his mouth because the teeth have rotted through to the jaw. His client has racked up more than $35,000 in dental bills so far. He had to seek the expertise of one of the nation's top dentists in Boston because the damage is so extensive, Hollander said.
The suit, filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, faults Brad Chvatal, who has been licensed with the Oregon Board of Dentistry since 1997.
Chvatal said Monday he couldn't have treated Bost until 2002, which, he said, is
when he became licensed as an orthodontist. He said he is proud of the work he does for his patients.
"We have the utmost respect for them and empathy, and treat them -- everybody -- with the best quality care as we possibly can," Chvatal said. He declined to comment further, citing patient privacy laws.
The lawsuit offers a very one-sided set of accusations, said Elizabeth Franklin, a spokeswoman with the American Association of Orthodontists Insurance Company in St. Louis, Missouri.
According to the suit, Bost started visiting Chvatal in August 1997, after another orthodontist installed his braces. Bost visited periodically, although probably not as often as he should have, Hollander said. Suddenly, in June 2008, Bost "received an urgent phone call from (Chvatal's office) that he needed to have the braces removed immediately," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit doesn't fault Chvatal for treating Bost at such an early age. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children first visit an orthodontist by age 7. And in recent years, an increasing number of children have been getting braces at younger and younger ages.
As for how Bost could spend most of elementary school and all of middle school and high school years with braces, Hollander is still trying to sort the details out. Bost's mother is a medical doctor.
"We aren't really sure what happened," Hollander said.
In addition to medical expenses, Bost is seeking $150,000 for pain and suffering. He lived in the Eugene area while he had braces. He has since moved to the Portland area, and couldn't be reached for comment.
-- Aimee Green
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/08/rotten_teeth_allegedly_caused.html
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