A ‘never event’ is an incident that should, as its name suggests, never happen while you’re in the care of a medical professional. For instance, pulling the wrong tooth is called a 'never event' in dentistry. It occurs when a dentist fails to meet the standard of care. This standard is based on how a professional dentist should treat patients in similar situations.

You have two years from the date you realized the dentist’s mistake to file a claim.

Though it’s called a ‘never event,’ pulling out the wrong tooth is the most common type of dental malpractice. This tends to occur when the dentist: 

• removes a healthy tooth instead of the damaged one

• extracts a tooth meant for another patient

• pulls an impacted molar scheduled for a later appointment

• removes the wrong temporary crown instead of the permanent one next to it

All these scenarios can happen when your dentist is simply not attentive enough.