A Minnesota woman who said she received four root canals, eight dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit to a dentist’s office is suing him for negligence, alleging he caused her disfigurement.
The patient, Kathleen Wilson of Hennepin County, Minnesota, filed the lawsuit on December 21 in District Court against Dr. Kevin Molldrem of Molldrem Family Dentistry in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, over the July 2020 visit that, According to her, it caused significant damage. injuries.
Ms Wilson said in the legal complaint that she lost income due to dental work and had endured “pain and suffering, embarrassment, emotional distress and disfigurement” as a result. It is not clear from the lawsuit what Ms. Wilson’s occupation is.
A lawyer for Ms. Wilson did not respond to an inquiry for further comment. Dr. Molldrem, who is listed as his own representative in the case, according to the complaint, did not respond to a request for comment.
On his website, Dr. Molldrem said he opened his practice in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, “to provide others with the type of dental care that I would want for my own family.”
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Wilson received dental care from Dr. Molldrem from July 7 to July 21, 2020.
During one of those visits, Dr. Molldrem completed 8 crowns, four root canals, and 20 restorations, “performing this work inadequately,” according to the complaint.
Ms Wilson also claimed that the dentist had provided “amounts of anesthesia far in excess of the recommended dosage” and had falsified medical records relating to the amount of anesthetic administered.
“This negligent work caused significant injuries” to Ms. Wilson, the suit states, noting that the dentist had not “created a plan of care that effectively addressed the cavities and dissolution of the teeth.”
Ms. Wilson’s legal team hired Dr. Avrum Goldstein, a dentist in Naples, Florida, to review her dental work and provide an expert opinion in a nine-page affidavit filed in November.
His report identified several breaches of duty committed by Dr Molldrem, including attempting to restore all of his teeth in a single visit. Almost all of Ms. Wilson’s teeth had decay or erosion, according to her report.
“Restoring all of your teeth does nothing to address your susceptibility to the disease, the likelihood of its continuation, and the possibility of tooth loss,” Dr. Goldstein wrote.
He added that completing so much dental work “in a single visit is impossible to achieve if each of these procedures is done correctly.”
After her last visit with Dr. Molldrem in July 2020, Ms. Wilson went several times to another dental office, Lake Minnetonka Dental in Wayzata, Minnesota, for treatment due to missing dental restorations and cavities. recurring cases, Dr. Goldstein wrote in his report.
Ms. Wilson also received treatment at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry from May to September 2022 to repair and replace restorations “in an attempt to stabilize her mouth,” according to the report.
Ms. Wilson is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit.
The American Dental Association declined to comment on the case.
“The American Dental Association is aware of the recent news and cannot comment as the Association does not have all the specific details and facts of the case,” Corinne Racine, a spokeswoman for the organization, said in an emailed statement. “Dentists should use their best professional judgment in all treatment decisions. “Patient safety and comfort are of utmost importance.”
Amanda Holpuch contributed reports.
