Laws vary from state to state, but the elements of a liability claim for dental malpractice or negligence by a dentist are generally:

• a dentist is a defendant;

• the claim or claims at issue concern treatment, lack of treatment, or a departure from accepted standards of dental care;

• the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;

• the defendant breached its duty of care by not meeting the required standard of care; and

• the defendant’s act or omission proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury (was the primary cause of the injury).

A claim for dental malpractice or negligence by a dentist may be brought as a simple negligence action based on the elements of a negligence claim—which are often located in a state’s court opinions (also known as case law or common law).

And in some states a claim for dental malpractice or negligence by a dentist may be defined by the state legislature in the state’s statutes—whether broadly as a health care liability claim against a health care provider, or more specifically as a claim for dental malpractice against a dentist.

In Massachusetts, dental malpractice falls under the broader category of medical malpractice. The elements of a dental malpractice claim are similar to those outlined in the description: the dentist (defendant) must have owed a duty of care to the patient (plaintiff), breached that duty by failing to adhere to the accepted standards of dental care, and this breach must have been the proximate cause of the patient's injury. Massachusetts law requires that the standard of care is that of a reasonable and prudent dental professional under similar circumstances. To succeed in a dental malpractice claim, the plaintiff must typically provide expert testimony to establish the standard of care and to show how the dentist's actions deviated from that standard. Additionally, Massachusetts has a statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, which includes dental malpractice, generally requiring that the lawsuit be filed within three years from the date of the alleged malpractice or from when the patient discovered or should have discovered the harm. There are also specific procedural requirements, such as presenting the claim to a tribunal consisting of a judge, a physician, and an attorney, to determine if the evidence presented is sufficient to raise a legitimate question of liability appropriate for judicial inquiry.