Dental Assistant broke tooth taking off temporary crown?

What would you do??? I went to the dentist and I was having pain from temp. being too high. The assistant removed my temp and half of my tooth along with it. Now I have to go and have a crown lengthening performed. When I original ly went to the dentist my tooth was cracked in half. The tooth is in the back of my mouth at the top, next to last tooth. I was supposed to be going in to get my impression from my crown, none of this was mentioned at my last visit!! I left with a referral to a periodontist for crown lengthening. I have to pay for this out of my pocket I do not have dental insurance. Has anyone else had this happen. It seems like I was better off before I went to the dentist. Would it be better for me to get a implant. When they showed me the tooth today I was livid. 85% of the tooth is now gone there is only a sliver of the tooth left.When they put the temp. crown on last time I had WAY more tooth left than that. I am open for any and all suggestions.

Dental Assistant broke tooth taking off temporary crown?
When you have a tooth that has had a root canal the tooth becomes brittle because they have taken out the living part of the tooth eg. the nerve/pulp. Did you have the root canal recently or years/months ago? Your question is some what confusing. Did you have the temp. on and then the tooth cracked? Or did you have the cracked tooth first and then they put on the temporary? Most of the time a dentist will rec'd a crown for a posterior tooth that has had a RC, for the reason that I mentioned above. Root canaled teeth become very brittle. The crown helps with the strength of the tooth. If you had this tooth root canaled months or years ago and did not have it crowned than I am not surprised that it fractured.. Which ever your situation if the tooth was going to fracture at some point, you should be glad that it fractured before you have had the perm. crown cemented. It may be to your benefit to look into possibly having an implant placed. You have to have enough bone support to hold one, however it may be a better solution to a tooth that sounds like it does not have much going for it. A tooth that has an RC, with 85% of it being missing, and you still need a crown lengthening? Check on an implant. I have two singles, (#20, and #2) and they are great. Nobody can tell except my dental friends. They are expensive but well worth it. One implant is now just as cost effective in our area, as having an RC, crown length., build-up, and crown. You may want to check it out. As a side note implants can fail as well depending on several factors. I have had mine for two years now and have never had a problem. Good luck.
Reply:The dentist should pay for it
Reply:Please check with a nother dentist first and explain to him... if he is honest he will advise you correctly...
Reply:The dentist office is responsible. Call them to discuss. Threaten with legal recourse if they don't agree to pay.





The larger question is.....





If a dentist makes a mistake, is it acci-DENTAL
Reply:First I would ask what the facility is going to do the rectify the problem. Then about the replacement cost since they were at fault. I would file a claim against the assistant or she could and may have done this before and not punished. If it is in the back of the mouth and you are beyond the formative years the gap is not a problem unless it makes you uncomfortable. If there is pain involved put a rush on the practice to get this fixed and quickly. Don't let this slide.
Reply:Sounds like your tooth was under stress and would have broke anyway. I am an assistant and see this all the time. Stress can cause you to grind and this is what broke your tooth not the taking of the temporary crown off. Blaming the problem on the dentist office does no good. You can either pay to have the tooth lightened to have your crown of have it pulled. You also may want to look into a bite appliance to wear while you sleep to prevent grinding. It just seems all to often the office gets blamed for things it has no control over. Its your body and things happen I know you don't want to hear this but you have to be fair.
Reply:Well this was probably something that was going to happen when they removed the temp to Deliver the perm. crown. It isn't the assistants fault sounds to me like your tooth was already fractured and the Dr. didn't arrest the fracture all the way or wasn't able to. Don't really know what to tell you looks like they discussed all of your options, you could always get the tooth in question extracted and a bridge placed in there. That is where the tooth in front of and behind the tooth in question are prepped like the crown and a pontic is placed where the missing tooth is, if you are able to do that see if they can apply what you have already paid for your crown to the bridge, the bridge is a permanent thing it is cemented just like a crown, you could always ask if that is an option.
Reply:Unless you're in severe pain at the moment, I would try to hold off and get some dental insurance OR someone who can provide a discount on the cost for you. It MIGHT save having to pay as much, or POSSIBLY any, out of your pocket. There is a plan that offers a percentage off of things such as vision, prescriptions, and dental. I use it for my prescriptions, have used it in the past for eyewear, and, wouldn't hesitate, if you could use 2 plans which you can't, touse it in the future with my prospective new dentist:Peoples Prescription Plan 1.800.667.6917 M-F: 9am-6pm Eastern Time. I pay $ 7.95 per month, although it may have gone up a little since I joined. I found it to be worth the money. One more suggestion: American Pioneer, an insurance company, if they have a branch where you are, may have affordable dental insurance for you: www@americanpioneer.com