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 Utah, dental malpractice falls under the broader category of medical malpractice. To establish a dental malpractice claim, the following elements must be proven: the existence of a dentist-patient relationship establishing a duty of care, a breach of the standard of care by the dentist, causation linking the breach to the patient's injury, and actual damages resulting from the injury. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-403 requires that a plaintiff demonstrate that the health care provider deviated from the standard of care and that this deviation was the proximate cause of the harm suffered. Additionally, Utah mandates that before filing a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must obtain a pre-litigation panel review, as per Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-416. This process involves presenting the claim to a panel for evaluation of its merits. Furthermore, Utah has a statute of limitations for filing dental malpractice claims, which is generally two years from the date of the alleged act of malpractice, as outlined in Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-404. It's important for plaintiffs to adhere to these legal requirements to successfully bring a dental malpractice claim in Utah.