Medicolegal Aspects of Replanting Permanent Teeth


Medicolegal Aspects of Replanting Permanent Teeth FULL TEXT • David J. Kenny, BSc, DDS, PhD, FRCD(C) • • Michael J. Casas, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C) • A b s t r a c t Replantation of a permanent tooth is an intervention that carries the same responsibilities in terms of informed consent as a surgical procedure. Unlike many procedures that can be planned in advance, an avulsion requires decision-making shortly after the injury, often by a distraught patient or parent. Under these circumstances, patients or parents prefer, or may even pressure, clinicians to make the replantation decision for them. Later, the parents may seek advice of other professionals or be confronted by lay opinions or Internet information that may lead them to doubt the decision or even feel betrayed by the dentist who provided the acute care. This article uses an actual parent complaint to illustrate the medicolegal aspects of the replantation decision and describe measures to be taken by the clinician faced with this situation. MeSH Key Words: dentist-patient relations; informed consent; risk management; tooth replantation Related information:
Patient information sheet on knocked-out permanent teeth (in PDF format)
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