A dentist and his practice seek to dismiss a patient’s complaint alleging she went months without teeth after her implants were allegedly installed improperly.
According to the Jan. 23 lawsuit, Deborah Wilson claims she sought dental implants to correct the appearance and function of her teeth. She hired defendant Dr. Jeffrey Naylor for the procedure. On Jan. 23, 2013, Naylor removed her teeth and installed the base rods for the dental implants, the suit states.
Wilson claims the new implants were supposed to be screwed into the base rods by Dr. Harold Bean. However, after her teeth were removed, the plaintiff claims Bean informed her that he could not fully complete the implant procedure because she had insufficient bone density that would not allow the implants and dentures to set properly.
Wilson alleges she was told she needed to wait several months before the procedure could be completed. Additionally, she claims she was told that the base rods had not been installed correctly and she would be forced to undergo additional correction surgery.
“The plaintiff had to endure several months without teeth and suffered tremendous pain, expense and mental anguish from her appearance,” the suit states.
Wilson accuses Naylor and Naylor Periodontics of negligence. She seeks more than $100,000, plus attorney’s fees, costs and other relief the court deems just.
The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on March 23 through attorney Matthew Zittel of Neville, Richards & Wuller LLC in Belleville.
They argue that the plaintiff’s counsel’s affidavit and the report from a reviewing health care professional is ambiguous for using the terms “medical” and “dental” interchangeably.
“It is ambiguous in that it is not clear whether the reviewing health professional holds the same licensure as the defendant dentist in this action or even practices or has practiced dentistry. Based upon the use of the term ‘medical,’ it is clear that the report from the reviewing health professional is not sufficient under the statute, nor is the affidavit of counsel,” the motion states.
Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth presides over the case.
Lloyd M. Cueto of the Law Office of Lloyd M. Cueto in Belleville represents Wilson.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 15-L-87