A dental malpractice lawyer helps patients who were harmed when a dentist’s care fell below the accepted standard. Not every bad outcome is malpractice, but when negligence causes a serious injury, such as nerve damage after a tooth extraction, a failed implant, or an anesthesia error, you may have a claim. Vaksman Khalfin represents injured patients across California. This page explains what dental malpractice is, the nerve injuries we see most, the deadlines that apply, and how compensation works.
Key Takeaways
- Dental malpractice is a form of professional negligence: care that falls below what a reasonably careful dentist would do, causing injury.
- Nerve injuries to the tongue, lip, and chin are among the most serious dental injuries, and some become permanent.
- In California you generally have one year from when you discover the injury, or three years from the injury itself, whichever comes first, to file (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5).
- Your medical and dental bills and lost income are not capped, but California limits non-economic damages under MICRA.
- Call 877-780-4727 for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you.
What Is Dental Malpractice?
Dental malpractice is professional negligence by a dentist or oral surgeon. Like doctors, dentists must meet a standard of care: the level of skill and caution a reasonably careful provider would use in the same situation. When a dentist falls below that standard and the patient is injured as a result, the patient may have a claim.
A dental malpractice case generally has four parts:
- A dentist-patient relationship, which creates a duty of care.
- A breach of the standard of care, meaning the dentist did something a careful dentist would not have done, or failed to do something a careful dentist would have.
- Causation, meaning that breach actually caused the injury.
- Damages, meaning real harm, such as a nerve injury, added surgery, lost income, or lasting pain.
An important point: a poor result by itself is not malpractice. Many procedures carry known risks even when done correctly. The question is whether the care met the standard. That is why these cases turn on the dental records and on the opinion of a qualified dental expert.
Dental Nerve Injuries: Lingual and Inferior Alveolar Nerve
Nerve injuries are among the most serious harms in dentistry because they can affect how you feel, taste, and speak every day. Two nerves in the lower jaw are most often involved. Both are branches of the trigeminal nerve.
- The inferior alveolar nerve runs inside the lower jaw and gives feeling to the lower lip and chin.
- The lingual nerve runs along the floor of the mouth near the lower wisdom teeth and gives feeling and taste to the tongue.
When one of these nerves is bruised, stretched, or cut, the result can be numbness, tingling (called paresthesia), a painful or burning sensation (called dysesthesia), or a loss of taste. The numbness may cover the lip, chin, gums, or part of the tongue. For some patients this fades over weeks or months. For others it is permanent.
How dental nerve injuries happen
Nerve damage after tooth extraction is the classic example, especially with lower wisdom teeth that sit close to the nerve. Other common causes include:
- Removing lower third molars (wisdom teeth) when the roots are near the nerve canal.
- Placing a dental implant that is too long or positioned into the nerve canal.
- A local anesthetic injection, such as an inferior alveolar nerve block, that strikes the nerve.
- Root canal treatment where filling material is pushed into the nerve canal.
Not every nerve injury is malpractice. Sometimes the risk is unavoidable and was properly disclosed. It may be malpractice when the dentist ignored what the imaging showed, failed to order the right imaging, used poor technique, or should have referred the case to a specialist. A dental expert review is what separates a known complication from negligence.
Other Types of Dental Malpractice
Nerve injuries are one part of a larger picture. We also see claims involving:
- Wrong-tooth or unnecessary extractions.
- Failed, misplaced, or infected dental implants.
- Anesthesia and sedation errors, including dosing mistakes.
- Failure to diagnose oral cancer or advanced gum (periodontal) disease.
- Root canal and crown errors that damage healthy teeth.
- Serious infections that were not caught or treated in time.
What ties these together is the same legal test: did the care fall below the standard, and did that cause real harm.
Proving a Dental Malpractice Claim
These cases are built on evidence, not just a bad experience. The core of the case is the standard of care and whether the dentist met it. Under California law, that almost always requires testimony from a qualified dental expert who can explain what a careful dentist would have done and how the treatment fell short.
We gather the full dental records, x-rays and scans, treatment notes, and billing, and we work with experts to review them. From there we can show how the breach caused the injury and document the resulting harm, from corrective surgery to lasting nerve symptoms.
Deadlines: the California Statute of Limitations
Dental malpractice claims in California follow the medical malpractice deadline in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5. In general, you must file within one year of when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury, or within three years of the date of the injury, whichever comes first.
There are limited exceptions that can extend the time, such as fraud, a dentist’s intentional concealment, or a foreign object left in the body with no treatment purpose. Special rules apply to children. Because the clock can be short, and because nerve injuries are not always obvious right away, it is best to talk to a lawyer promptly rather than wait.
Compensation and the MICRA Cap
Two kinds of damages can be recovered in a dental malpractice case, and California treats them differently.
- Economic damages are your measurable financial losses: past and future medical and dental care, corrective surgery, and lost income. These are not capped in California.
- Non-economic damages cover pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. These are limited by California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), found in Civil Code section 3333.2.
Under changes from Assembly Bill 35, the MICRA cap now rises every year. For injury cases in 2026 the non-economic cap is $470,000, and for wrongful death cases it is $650,000. Those figures increase on a set schedule through 2033. The cap applies only to non-economic damages, not to your medical bills or lost earnings.
How We Help
We represent injured patients, not dental offices or insurers. When you call, we listen to what happened and give you an honest read on whether the care looks like malpractice.
- We obtain and review the dental records, imaging, and billing.
- We work with qualified dental experts to evaluate the standard of care.
- We handle the MICRA framework and build the full value of your economic and non-economic losses.
- We negotiate with the provider’s insurer and, when needed, take the case to court.
Dental injuries are part of our broader California personal injury practice. The consultation is free, and because we work on a contingency fee, you pay nothing unless we recover for you.
If you were hurt by dental care, especially if you have lasting numbness, pain, or a loss of taste after a procedure, do not wait for a deadline to pass. Call 877-780-4727 to talk it through. The consultation is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Some nerve injury is a known risk of procedures like wisdom tooth removal, even with careful treatment. It may be malpractice when the dentist ignored the imaging, failed to order the right scans, used poor technique, or should have referred you to a specialist. A qualified dental expert review is what separates an accepted risk from negligence.
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, you generally have one year from when you discovered the injury, or three years from the injury itself, whichever comes first. Limited exceptions apply for fraud, concealment, or a foreign object, and children have special rules. Because the deadline can be short, it is best to ask early.
Your economic damages, such as medical and dental bills, corrective surgery, and lost income, are not capped in California. Non-economic damages for pain and suffering are limited under MICRA. In 2026 that cap is $470,000 for injury cases and $650,000 for wrongful death, and it rises each year.
Often it is not. Many nerve injuries improve over weeks or months as the nerve heals. Some, however, are permanent. If you still have numbness, tingling, pain, or a loss of taste in your lip, chin, or tongue months after a procedure, it is worth having the injury evaluated.
The most common are lower wisdom tooth (third molar) extractions, dental implant placement, local anesthetic injections such as a nerve block, and root canal treatment where filling material reaches the nerve canal. The inferior alveolar and lingual nerves in the lower jaw are the ones most often affected.
Almost always, yes. California requires expert testimony to establish the standard of care and to show that the dentist fell below it. We retain qualified dental and oral surgery experts to review your records and support the claim.
The first consultation is free. We handle dental malpractice cases on a contingency fee, which means you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. We explain how costs work before any representation begins.
Yes, if the problem came from care that fell below the standard. Failed or misplaced implants, wrong-tooth and unnecessary extractions, anesthesia errors, and a missed oral cancer diagnosis are all common dental malpractice claims, along with nerve injuries.
