Dentist left broken drill bit in man’s tooth-Broken RC instruments in eyes of media !

A NSW man has been forced to undergo expensive surgery after a dentist broke a drill bit off in his tooth and it was left untreated for several years.

Halit Kara, from Newcastle, told ninemsn the titanium drill piece was lodged in his tooth after undergoing root canal work in 2007.

Mr Kara claims the dentist, who worked at the Newcastle Dental Laser Centre but has since moved overseas, told him that he could leave the piece in his tooth because “it would act as a filling”.

Five years later, the drill piece is still lodged in the 29-year-old’s tooth and has become infected several times, costing him more than $4000 in medical bills.

He has been treated at a specialist several times, but so far attempts to remove the drill piece have failed.

He is due for another appointment at the specialist soon, and if the treatment has not worked he will need maxillofacial surgery to get rid of the drill piece once and for all.

“I’m still living with the drill tip in my tooth … I’m on antibiotics all the time to stop the infection from spreading,” he said.

Mr Kara said his costs would increase greatly if he does need surgery.

He has now engaged Consultant Solicitor John Palmieri and said he wants the original clinic where the procedure was performed to pay for his medical expenses.

Mr Palmieri said the clinic had not responded to two letters, sent on February 2 and 25, and the next step was to proceed with court action.

“You see this kind of thing occasionally but usually it doesn’t get this far, people just go back to the dentist and get it whatever it was repaired or treated,” Mr Palmieri told ninemsn.

Dr Peter Wong, from Newcastle Dental Laser Centre, said the dentist who had originally treated Mr Kara no longer worked at the Centre, but refused to comment specifically about the incident that left the drill piece in his tooth.

He said he had not seen any legal threats, and said that Mr Kara should go to a health tribunal.

But Mr Palmieri said the clinic needed to make a formal statement to Mr Kara claiming they were not responsible before the matter could go to a tribunal.

                        An X-ray showing the piece of drill in Mr Kara’s tooth.

Mr Kara said he just wants to the clinic to cover the costs to fix the mistake, and hopes he will not need to have the tooth removed.

“It’s like a tradie coming to your house and painting your wall and then puts a scratch in it or knocks a hole in it — who is responsible to fix that, it’s the tradie,” he said.

“You’ve got so much trust with them [the dentist] and then you walk out with a bigger problem.”

The Newcastle Dental Laser Centre has not responded to requests to name the dentist responsible for the mistake.