Unfortunately your chances of being sued as a dental hygienist are higher than ever before. In the past five years, periodontal cases (the patients you see for the majority of your day) have soared up the leaderboard to claim the top spot. Whilst very few hygienists end up with claims or GDC investigations they get caught up with the dentists when the most common allegations of a failure to diagnose and failure to refer for specialist care are made.

Len D’Cruz and I have have written a summary guide for hygienists/therapists on ‘avoiding the pitfalls of dento-legal issues’. It covers key topics such as record keeping, referring for specialist care, implants and managing complaints. We hope it’s useful. 

Periodontology