Dental mapractice litigance in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil

The relationship between patients and dentists today is more worn and less based on trust, which can lead to high rates of lawsuits related to civil liability and dental malpractice. Aim: verify if there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits related to questioned dental treatments, and against dentists registered in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil, from 2012 to 2017. Methods: We outlined an overview based on the list from the São Paulo Council of Dentistry containing 30,238 registered dentists in the city of São Paulo, and searched for lawsuits on the public base of the São Paulo State Court's. Results: The search, after the inclusion and exclusion criteria, found 247 lawsuits, with dental implants as the most involved specialty. The total indemnities requested ranged from R$ 227.42 to R$ 937,000.00, but no indemnity granted exceeded the amount of R$ 100,000.00. Conclusion: According to the analysis of cases, there is a progressive increase in the number of civil liability lawsuits against dentists involving dental malpractice litigance

Age estimation in humans through the analysis of aspartic acid racemization from teeth: A scoping review of methods, outcomes, and open research questions.

Teeth are considered the most resistant structures in the human body. In forensic odontology, teeth are useful for human identification, especially when dental age estimation is necessary. Despite numerous studies, there is no consensus regarding the best methods for dental age estimation. The analysis of aspartic acid racemization, however, has shown promising results. This scoping review aimed to present a descriptive synthesis of the current literature regarding dental age estimation through aspartic acid racemization. Four electronic databases were screened: PubMed, Scielo, Web of Science, and Scopus. Cross-sectional studies published before April 2021 were selected. From 206 articles found, 26 met the eligibility criteria. Several experimental protocols and laboratory settings were detected, but the different protocols did not seem to significantly reduce error rates in dental age estimation. The analysis of aspartic acid racemization in human dental tissues produced accurate and potentially reliable results for age estimation. Aspartic acid racemization stands out especially in the adulthood - age category in which other methods struggle to deliver proper performances. Studies with larger samples, independent testing, and standardized laboratory procedures are necessary. Equator-like reporting guidelines are encouraged to enable future systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Análise de processos de responsabilidade civil envolvendo cirurgiões-dentistas de três munícipios do estado de São Paulo em período de cinco anos / Analysis of liability lawsuits involving dentists in different cities of São Paulo State (Brazil) over a period of 5 years

A atuação profissional do cirurgião-dentista está sujeita ao cumprimento do conceito de responsabilidade civil, já que existe a possibilidade de um paciente acionar judicialmente seu cirurgião-dentista por atos cometidos em sua prática clínica. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento dos processos de responsabilidade civil envolvendo cirurgiões-dentistas em três diferentes municípios do interior do estado de São Paulo (Araçatuba, Bauru e Piracicaba), em um período de cinco anos (de 2014 a 2018), a fim de verificar se há crescimento constante da quantidade de demandas judiciais, bem como peculiaridades acerca de indenizações pleiteadas e sentenciadas e sobre a atuação de peritos e assistentes técnicos. Realizou-se uma busca nominal no site do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo, onde foi possível ter acesso a essas demandas judiciais. Foram encontrados 33 processos iniciados no período determinado, com uma tendência ao crescimento contínuo em dois dos três municípios analisados, sendo que em apenas cinco das demandas havia sentença promulgada no momento da pesquisa. Por meio da análise descritiva dos documentos, observou-se que, nos municípios analisados, é habitual que valores sentenciados sejam menores do que valores pedidos de indenização em todas as categorias de dano. Quanto à atuação de peritos, nota-se a presença em peso e a importância de sua atuação nesses processos, discordante da quantidade de assistentes técnicos presentes nessas lides