Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

New technologies now help dentists locate minor abnormalities that may or may not ultimately turn into full-blown cavities. These problems do not require dental filling procedures, but far too many dentists recommend these anyway.

The New York Times is reporting on increasingly sophisticated dental technologies that allow the detection of minor abnormalities, like incipient carious lesions. An incipient carious lesion is one of the earliest stages of structural damage, usually caused by bacterial infections. These infections may or may not lead to a full-blown cavity. In some cases, the lesion can be treated by minerals in the saliva.

Many experts are of the opinion that these minor cavities do not need to be treated with a dental filling because damage to the enamel has not yet begun. However, a majority of dentists do not hesitate to operate on a tooth that has minor damage, and decay that has not progressed beyond the enamel. These treatments are not only painful, but also expensive.

Some incipient carious lesions cannot be seen with x-rays or the naked eye, but can be detected through fiber-optic techniques and infrared laser scanning. By using these techniques, dentists now find it possible to locate minor cavities that do not require filling, and proceed to perform these procedures anyway.

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A new study finds that there can be a significant reduction in the rate of obstetrics adverse events through the use of a multifaceted quality program. The findings of the study have been published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, and the researchers believe that comprehensive staff training programs can help improve obstetrics outcomes dramatically.

The researchers developed a two-year obstetrics safety program, which they then implemented at the North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, NY. All staff members of the obstetrics wing of the hospitals were included in the initiative. They were required to complete a training program that included evidence-based protocols to reduce the incidence of adverse events.
The researchers found that the incidence of some of the most common adverse events that Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers come across, like a return to the operating room after delivery or birth trauma, decreased significantly after the training program was implemented. The decline was more than 50%. Before the training program, the incidence of such adverse outcomes was about 2%. After the training program, the incidence of adverse events was reduced to about .8%. The researchers also found that the staff was able to maintain these positive outcomes over a two-year study period.

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No Atlanta dental malpractice lawyer would doubt that modern sedation techniques are safer and more effective than before. Yet every year, there are far too many cases involving patients developing serious or even fatal complications after being administering anesthesia. According to a new article in Anesthesia Progress, the risks are especially great when patients have existing medical conditions.

Before performing a dental procedure on a person with a pre-existing medical condition, Atlanta dentists must evaluate the patient's eligibility for anesthesia. A dentist who is treating a patient suffering from cardiovascular disease, must have a complete review of the patient's medical history. This must be followed by a physical examination, including a recording of the blood pressure and heart rate.

After this, the dentist must make an informed decision about whether the patient is eligible for a procedure. The researchers advise dentists to refer the patient back to a physician, if they have any doubts about the patient's eligibility for the procedure, even if that means delaying the procedure. Once the anesthesia is administered, any significant changes in blood pressure readings must be monitored closely.

Continue reading " Atlanta Dentists Need to Take Precautions before Sedating Patients with Pre-Existing Medical Conditions " »

The family of a four-year-old boy in California, who died after a dental procedure, is still looking for answers about the reasons for his death. The boy had been taken to a dentist in Oakland, for tooth extractions and dental capping. He was administered a dental anesthetic. However, things worsened rapidly from then on. The boy slipped into unconsciousness, and despite efforts to revive him, died.

The boy had been born with a cardiac defect, involving a hole in the wall separating the right and left ventricle of the heart. When he was about a year old, he had a pacemaker installed. According to his family, he was in good health after he had the pacemaker installed.

The family says that the doctors at the hospital where the dental procedure was performed were aware of the boy’s medical history, because it was the same hospital where he has had his open-heart surgery. Every six months, he visited the hospital for a cardiac checkup.

Continue reading " Family of Boy Who Died after Dental Anesthesia Seeks Answers " »