Professional responsibility in dentistry: analysis of an interdepartmental case study

OBJECTIVES. The increase in charges for professional malpractice in health care, as well as the diffusion of data concerning a different percentage distribution of dental sectors involved in legal disputes, led the authors to conduct a cognitive analysis of the phenomenon through the study of inter-departmental cases of proven dental malpractice in civil law. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A poliparametric descriptive analysis was conducted on a sample of 436 cases of proven dental malpractice promoted by subjects aged between 14 and 70. RESULTS. In dentistry, most technical- deontological errors are to be found in the area of prosthetics and implant prosthetics, followed by endodontics and orthodontics. In the majority of cases the lack of health records describing the patient's previous status and the absence of an informed consent to dental treatment were ascertained. The damage involved more frequently dental structures, resulting in permanent dam-age to person <= 4% in more than two-thirds of cases, with consequential loss mostly amounting to (97%) <= 30,000 In most cases a culpable and unskillful conduct was recognized, followed by imprudence and negligence. CONCLUSIONS. The authors propose to establish a set of behavioral guidelines with an aim to reducing possible charges for professional malpractice, or at least, to substantiating a correct technical-deontological practice.