General dentists may be putting themselves in the path of legal risks by carrying out oral surgery procedures.

A study by a team of Queensland researchers has mapped litigation patterns in the key area of legal risk in the fields of general dentistry (oral surgery procedure), as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery. The analysis was drawn from all publicly available Australian medical negligence cases, pertinent information from the dental literature, and dentists who are practising in this area.

In the span of 20-year period, fifteen cases were located across almost all Australian jurisdictions, with eight cases involved general dentists and seven cases involved oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Among them, eleven cases involved determinations of whether or not the practitioner had failed in their duty of care, while negligence was found in six cases. Eleven of the 15 cases related to molar extractions (eight specifically to the third molar).

The study recommended dental and medical practitioners wanting to manage legal risk to:

• Consider the circumstances arising in judicial cases.
• Have an adequate warning of risks as is offering referral in appropriate cases.
• Carry out preoperative radiographs, good medical records and processes to ensure appropriate follow-up.

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