Dental Malpractice – Double Implant Failure

Dennis A. Vandenberg successfully defended a local periodontist in a double implant failure case in Palm Beach County. The patient, a 70+ year old female agreed to the extraction of #9 and 10 and placement of a single implant at #9 supporting a cantilever at 8-10. Two days later the patient contacted the emergency service number and indicated that she thought the bridge moved after biting down on hard vegetables. This was despite written instructions not to bite on these teeth, even though they were taken out of occlusion. She was examined on the next day and it was concluded that the implant was non-mobile and stable. 

The patient did not improve and it was determined to remove the restoration 12 days after placement of the implant. Unfortunately, the implant came out with the restoration. The patient had not been anesthetized to that point in time. At the same visit, an implant was placed at #10. Initially there was healing, but signs and symptoms of an infection then developed, leading to extraction of the implant some 15 days later. At that point in time there was a deficit in the buccal plate of 2.0 x 2.5 cm. Grafting was accomplished, but not to the extent that the subsequent treater felt confident in re-introducing implants.

The jury took 90 minutes to find in favor of the dentist. The Plaintiff was represented by a local dentist turned attorney. Post-trial motions have been waived.