A Study Into Malpractices in the Dental Practice in the Town Of Plovdiv – Bulgaria Over A 5-Year Period

Abstract

In their work, dentists sometimes allow malpractices to occur. The aim of this study is to investigate the nature of the “adverse consequences” that may serve as grounds for claims from patients to the Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) and the Regional College (RC) of the Bulgarian Dental Association (BDA) in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Material and methods: The documental method has been applied in investigating retrospectively 42 claims from patients to PEC-Plovdiv, filed in the period from 2011 to 2016, and the findings have been compared to those of similar investigations in Tehran and Turkey. Results and discussion: After an in-depth analysis, it was established that the actions that had resulted in claims filed with PEC-Plovdiv, were ‘errors’ in: prosthetics – 34%; surgical treatment – 6%; infringement of the rights of the patient (mostly – administered treatment without the informed consent of the patient) – 10%; mounting implants – 50% (prostheses and surgical treatment as part of implantology are also included here). According to foreign publications, errors in prostheses and surgical interventions are the most common. The same errors have been found to be the most common in Plovdiv, too, in addition to errors in implantology. In Bulgaria, as well as in many other countries, there is no register of dental malpractices. Conclusion: The adverse consequences of dental treatment have been established to be of the same origin in the 3 surveyed regions. The safety strategies are designed to prevent unintentional injuries to the patient.