Dental News ~ S.C. woman gets $2M settlement after 13 teeth yanked by mistake

It was one painful - and unnecessary - dental procedure that cost a dentist and his clinic millions.
A South Carolina woman who had 13 teeth extracted by mistake won a $2 million jury verdict this week.
Plaintiff Elizabeth Smith, 28, is now looking forward to getting her teeth fixed, said her lawyer, Robert Ranson.
"She now sees [the] opportunity [to] move on with her life, and, in her words ... 'get back to being what she was' before this all happened," Ranson said.
Smith is still missing all of her top teeth, and the cost of reconstructive surgery is estimated at $80,000.
In 2006, when Smith sought treatment at the Sexton Dental Clinic in Florence, she agreed to have a dentist pull just three teeth.
Somehow, the dentist mistakenly removed all 16 of her top teeth.
Clinic employees then tried to cover up the mistake in her chart, Ranson said during trial. The clinic still denies the charge.
Sexton Dental Clinic CEO Ruan Westraad declined to comment, but noted the clinic has served tens of thousands of patients every year.
The clinic was founded in 1923 to provide dental care to people who couldn't otherwise afford a dentist. Clinic officials and their lawyer are weighing an appeal.

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