12 • Clinical risk


THE COST OF


PERFECTION I


It’s a billion pound industry in the UK but what are the clinical risks of cosmetic dentistry? MDDUS dental adviser Doug Hamilton offers some advice


T IS estimated that up to £1.5 billion is spent each year on cosmetic dentistry in the UK. So, regardless of where graduates choose to start practising, it is likely that they will soon encounter patients who wish to electively alter their smile. This type of treatment, if


properly planned and executed, will undoubtedly bring much happiness to the patient. However, it does carry with it practical difficulties which are perhaps not so commonly encountered in therapeutic interventions. Take, for example, a recent complaint against one of our members who had placed crowns in order to save his patient’s fractured,


carious incisors. The final restorations were well fitting and aesthetically pleasing. However, one of the prepared teeth subsequently became acutely painful and required endodontic treatment. In keeping with my theory that Sod’s law is the governing principle in dentistry, the accessed preparation then fractured (over Christmas). At this point the patient initiated a formal


complaint and threatened to seek the advice of a solicitor. Fortunately, the high standard of our member’s work was also evident in his record keeping and we were able to assist with the production of a strong defence. Once the


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