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Your Dental Records
You will need to obtain your dental records from the negligent dentist and from each of your dentists rendering dental care for the 10 years before the negligent dentistry and for each of the dentists you saw in consult or treated with after the negligent dentist. These records will identify the teeth that were treated and by whom (Figure 7). Each dentist is obligated by law to provide the patient with a complete set of the patient's records and the dentist is entitled to be reimbursed for the reasonable costs of duplicating these dental records (Figure 8). The following is an exemplar letter and HIPAA dental authorization for the release of dental records (Figure 9). It is important that you obtain all dental records, so that your dental malpractice attorney and the dental experts can evaluate your case. These dental records include the following:
- written progress notes and treatment plan;
- medical and dental history;
- all x-rays (digital x-rays will be needed on a CD/DVD;
- all photographs;
- slides;
- tracings;
- models;
- lab slips; and
- complete billing for all consultations and treatment.
There are occasions when the negligent dentist will not cooperate with the patient when records are requested and if this becomes apparent, you will need the dental malpractice attorney to obtain the dental records.