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 Rhode Island, dental malpractice falls under the broader category of medical malpractice. The elements of a dental malpractice claim in Rhode Island are similar to those outlined in the description: the dentist must be the defendant; the claim must involve treatment, lack of treatment, or a deviation from accepted dental care standards; the dentist owed a duty of care to the patient; there was a breach of that duty by not meeting the standard of care; and the breach was the proximate cause of the patient's injury. Rhode Island case law, as well as statutory law, may govern dental malpractice claims. Specifically, Rhode Island General Laws § 9-1-14.1 establishes the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim, including dental malpractice, which is generally three years from the time the negligent act occurred or from the time the patient discovered or should have discovered the injury. Additionally, Rhode Island has a pre-litigation screening process for medical malpractice claims, as outlined in Rhode Island General Laws § 9-19.1, which requires potential plaintiffs to present their claim to a three-member panel before proceeding to court. This process is designed to assess the validity of the claim and encourage settlement before a full trial.