Judgments Dentist must educate about alternative methods of stunning

OLG Hamm awards the patient € 4.00 in compensation
(Jur). Dentists need to educate about alternative methods of anesthesia. Otherwise, they can also be liable for correct health effects of anesthesia, as the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm ruled in a ruling announced on Wednesday, 18 May 2015 (Ref .: 26 U 199/15).

Usually a "infiltration anesthesia" is used on painful dental procedures on the upper jaw, a "line anesthesia" on the lower jaw. In both cases, the puncture on the inside of the mouth takes place near the affected tooth.

Image: Andrey Popov - fotolia

Alternatively, meanwhile, "intraligamentary anesthesia" is also used. The anesthetic is injected into the crease between the tooth and the gums. At sufficiently high pressure, the agent then reaches the tooth root, where it stuns the incoming nerve fibers. In the posterior teeth of the lower jaw, however, this method is only possible to a limited extent.

In the case decided now by the OLG Hamm a 31-year-old patient of a dentist in Bielefeld had pain in the lower jaw. Prior to treatment, the dentist anesthetized the affected area as usual using line anesthesia. The dentist did not talk about the possible alternative of intraligamentary anesthesia.

Days later, the patient still had a numb and tingling tongue. He accused his dentist of a faulty treatment. His tongue is still numb except for the tip. Apparently the dentist had damaged a tongue nerve. For this the patient demanded a compensation of 7,500 Euro and further damages.

The Higher Regional Court Hamm awarded him now a compensation of 4,000 euros. A faulty treatment could not determine by the court consulted reviewers. Nerve injuries are possible even with proper line anesthesia.

However, the dentist failed to educate his patients about the possibility of intraligamentary anesthesia. This was "a real alternative" here and in 2013 already "belongs to the standard in outpatient dental practice". The dentist had to inform about this and leave the patient with the choice.

Without this explanation, the consent of the patient in the lead anesthesia ineffective and thus the whole treatment had been unlawful, decided the Higher Regional Court in its judgment of April 19, 2016. The amount of compensation was set with only 4,000 euros, because the deafness of the tongue meanwhile was down sharply. (Mwo / fle)