Risk management in clinical practice. Part 4. Endodontics.

Endodontic procedures are challenging and technically demanding. In the UK standards of treatment have been shown to have fallen short of acceptable guidelines, laying many dentists open to litigation on questions of clinical negligence by patients who understand and know what should be considered as current best practice in this area. Failure to communicate with patients about the procedure and not obtaining consent for treatment is a key area of complaint, as is inadequate record keeping. When treatment is undertaken within the framework of accepted guidelines it would be very difficult for a patient to open a claim for clinical negligence should a failure occur. This article looks at potential dento-legal problems in endodontics and how, through compliance with best practice, they may be avoided.