Sitting in a dentist’s chair requires a level of trust. You expect temporary soreness or pressure, but you do not expect to leave with an injury that changes how you eat, speak, or even smile.
When a dental procedure goes wrong because a provider ignored safety standards, used poor judgment, or failed to diagnose a clear problem, the impact is more than physical. Chronic pain, nerve damage, bite problems, infections, and visible changes to your face or teeth can reshape your daily life in ways most people never imagine.
If you are dealing with pain that started after a dental visit and something does not feel right, you deserve clarity. We review what happened, explain whether the outcome reflects a known complication or a preventable mistake, and guide you through your options step by step.
The Philadelphia dental malpractice lawyers at Wapner Newman are ready to listen and help you understand your next move. Call us at (215) 569-0900 for a no-cost, no-obligation conversation about your case.
Why Choose Wapner Newman for Your Dental Injury Claim?
A Legacy of Fighting for Philadelphians
Wapner Newman is a Philadelphia firm, founded here in 1978. For more than four decades, we’ve been advocates for injured people in this city and the surrounding counties. Our attorneys are part of the local legal fabric, and we’ve built our reputation by securing results for the people who live and work here.
A Specific Focus on Difficult Dental Malpractice Cases
Many personal injury firms shy away from dental malpractice claims. They require a deep understanding of medicine and law to prove. We don’t.
Our partner, Julianna Merback Burdo, has dedicated years to litigating these cases across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her experience covers everything from debilitating nerve injuries and failed dental implants to wrongful death claims arising from anesthesia errors during oral surgery.
A Track Record of Significant Results
Our history of settlements and verdicts shows our ability to handle high-stakes litigation and secure the resources our clients need to move forward. These results include:
- $8.4 Million verdict for a brain injury involving a delayed diagnosis.
- $2.7 Million settlement in a medical malpractice wrongful death case.
- A history of over $227 Million recovered for our clients, including our work on the historic Market Street Collapse settlement.
Our Office in the Heart of the City
Our main office is located at 1628 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Located in Center City just a few blocks from City Hall, we are easily reachable via the Broad Street Line at the City Hall Station, making us a convenient choice for anyone in the Delaware Valley.
Our Commitment to You
We know you’re already facing unexpected medical bills and financial uncertainty. That’s why we handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you won’t pay us a single fee unless we secure a financial recovery for you. Your initial case review is always free, so we can examine the details of your situation and determine if the dentist’s care fell below the accepted standard, all at no risk to you.
How is a Dental Malpractice Case Valued?
Corrective dental work is almost always more expensive and invasive than the original procedure. The price of new implants, nerve grafts, or complex reconstructive surgery can be immense, and most dental insurance plans have low annual caps. You might find yourself watching your savings evaporate to correct a problem you didn’t create.
A successful malpractice claim must account for every loss you have suffered. The compensation we pursue on your behalf falls into several categories:
Economic Damages
These are the concrete, calculable financial losses.
- Past and Future Medical Bills: This covers the cost of the botched procedure and all necessary follow-up care, including revision surgeries, specialist consultations, therapy, and medications needed to manage your condition.
- Lost Wages: If severe pain, infection, or recovery from surgeries forced you to miss work, you may be compensated for that lost income.
Non-Economic Damages
These damages are for the intangible, but deeply felt, human cost of the injury.
- Pain and Suffering: Dental and nerve pain is uniquely disruptive. It can ruin sleep, shatter concentration, and take a serious toll on your mental health. This part of the claim acknowledges that daily struggle.
- Disfigurement: This applies to visible injuries like the loss of front teeth, facial asymmetry from nerve damage, or scarring that changes your appearance and damages your self-esteem.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This accounts for how the injury has stripped away parts of your life. For instance, lingual nerve damage could destroy your ability to taste, or a botched jaw procedure could prevent you from eating the foods you once loved.
Punitive Damages
In rare cases where a dentist’s conduct was exceptionally reckless, like practicing under the influence, a court may award punitive damages. These are not intended to compensate you, but to punish the defendant and discourage similar behavior.
A Note on Comparative Negligence in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule. This means the defense may argue that your own actions, like missing follow-up appointments or not following hygiene instructions, contributed to the poor outcome.
Our role is to build a case that preempts these tactics and shows that the dentist’s failure to provide proper care was the direct cause of your harm.
Where and How Dental Negligence Occurs in Philadelphia
Dental injuries can happen in any setting, from a small private practice to a large hospital. Certain environments in a major city like Philadelphia, however, may present different kinds of risks for patients.
The Rise of High-Volume Dental Clinics
Throughout Philadelphia, corporate-owned dental chains have become more common. The business model for some of these clinics prioritizes patient volume, which may lead to rushed procedures. When dentists work too quickly, they might miss key details in a patient’s history, fail to diagnose a condition, or aggressively upsell treatments that are not truly needed, increasing the opportunity for error.
University and Hospital Settings
Philadelphia is a world-class medical hub, with institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Jefferson. While they typically offer top-tier care, mistakes still happen. In student clinics or busy hospital residency programs, a lack of supervision or a breakdown in communication could lead to patient harm.
Anesthesia Risks in Outpatient Centers
Many oral surgeons perform procedures requiring sedation or general anesthesia in their own offices. When done correctly, this is perfectly safe. However, these settings may not have the advanced monitoring equipment or emergency personnel that are standard in a hospital. An error in administering or monitoring anesthesia can have devastating results.
Understanding Dental Malpractice: What is the “Standard of Care?”
One of the hardest parts of this experience is trying to figure out if what happened was malpractice or just a bad outcome. A failed root canal, for example, is not automatically malpractice. Dentistry has inherent risks. The key legal question turns on a concept called the “standard of care.”
The standard of care is a legal benchmark that asks: What would a reasonably skilled and careful dentist in the Philadelphia area have done in a similar situation? Malpractice happens when a dentist’s actions fall below this accepted standard, and that failure directly causes you harm. It might be something they did, like drilling too deep, or something they failed to do, like not ordering a necessary X-ray.
Here are some of the most common types of dental negligence we see.
Nerve Injuries (Inferior Alveolar & Lingual Nerves)
These are among the most serious and life-altering dental injuries. The inferior alveolar nerve (feeling in the lower lip and chin) and the lingual nerve (feeling and taste for the tongue) can be damaged during wisdom tooth extractions or implant placement. The symptoms include:
- Paresthesia: A constant numbness or “pins and needles” feeling.
- Dysesthesia: A painful burning or electric shock-like sensation that won’t go away. This kind of damage can permanently change how you speak, eat, drink, and show affection.
Implant Failure and Sinus Perforation
Dental implants require meticulous planning. Malpractice may occur if an implant is placed without a proper bone density analysis, causing it to fail. It can also happen if it is drilled too far into the upper jaw, puncturing the sinus cavity. A sinus perforation can lead to chronic infections, pain, and more surgeries to fix the hole.
Failure to Diagnose Oral Cancer
Dentists and hygienists are trained to spot the warning signs of oral cancer. They should be looking for suspicious sores, lesions, or discolored patches in your mouth. A failure to identify these signs, or to refer you to a specialist for a biopsy, can allow a treatable cancer to become life-threatening.
Endodontic (Root Canal) Errors
Root canals are technical procedures, and negligence can include:
- Overfilling the root with sealant, forcing it into the underlying nerve canal.
- Breaking a file tip inside the canal and failing to remove it or tell you it’s there.
- Perforating the side of the tooth root, creating an opening for infection to spread into the jawbone.
How Do You Prove a Dentist Was Negligent? The Role of the Expert Witness
To succeed in a dental malpractice claim, we must demonstrate that the dentist breached the standard of care. But how is that standard defined? It’s not based on our opinion or yours. It’s established by another dental professional.
The Certificate of Merit Requirement
Pennsylvania law has a specific rule designed to filter out frivolous lawsuits. Under Rule 1042.3, within 60 days of filing a lawsuit, we must file a document called a Certificate of Merit. This is a sworn statement, signed by your attorney, affirming that a qualified and licensed dental expert has reviewed your case and believes there is a “reasonable probability” that the care you received fell below the accepted standards. Without this certificate, a case is typically dismissed.
Finding and Vetting the Right Expert
The choice of an expert witness is one of the most important decisions in your case. The expert must be in the same field as the dentist who injured you. For example, if an oral surgeon caused a nerve injury, we need another oral surgeon, not a general dentist, to evaluate the case.
We work with a network of highly credentialed dental and medical experts across the country to find the right person to review your records. This expert will analyze your X-rays, chart notes, and other records to provide an unbiased, professional opinion on what should have happened and what actually did.
This expert’s opinion forms the backbone of your claim, providing the evidence needed to stand up to the defense’s arguments and show that your injury was preventable.
FAQ: Philadelphia Dental Malpractice Questions
Is it malpractice if my implant failed?
Not always. Implants sometimes fail for reasons that are not the dentist’s fault. However, if the failure was caused by placing it into an inadequate bone, hitting a nerve, using the wrong size implant, or a post-operative infection from non-sterile instruments, it may very well be malpractice.
The dentist offered to refund my money or fix the mistake for free. Should I accept?
Be very careful. An offer like this is typically tied to you signing a release form. That document would likely bar you from seeking any further compensation, even if new complications arise. A simple refund doesn’t account for your pain, suffering, lost wages, or future care costs. It’s best to speak with an attorney at our firm before signing anything.
Can I sue for a numb lip or tongue after an extraction?
Yes. While some temporary numbness might be a known risk, permanent numbness or constant pain (paresthesia or dysesthesia) strongly suggests the nerve was severed or severely compressed. This is frequently a deviation from the standard of care and could be the basis for a successful lawsuit.
My injury happened over a year ago. Is it too late?
The statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is typically two years. While you may still be within that window, waiting is a bad idea. Evidence gets harder to find over time, and the details of what happened become less clear. Contact us right away to protect your rights.
Don’t Let a Dental Injury Define Your Future
Our team at Wapner Newman understands the medicine and the law. We cut through the jargon to build a clear, strong case on your behalf. Our only mission is to pursue the maximum compensation available so you can afford the corrective care you need to restore your health and your confidence.
Call Wapner Newman today at (215) 569-0900 for a free, confidential consultation. Let us handle the legal work, so you can focus on healing.