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Dental malpractice claims show documentation failures cost more
A Doctors Company dataset of 1,358 closed dentistry cases found documentation errors drive the highest average indemnity payment at $165,000, despite occurring in about 22% of cases.
Insurance Business reports on new data from The Doctors Company, which says professional liability brokers and dental practices should shift risk conversations toward documentation practices. The outlet cites the insurer's August 2026 Malpractice Risk Review, covering dentistry claims from 2010 to 2025.
The analysis includes 1,358 closed cases and highlights a gap between how often issues occur and how costly they become. Technical skill failures were the most common contributing factor, appearing in nearly 70% of claims, while documentation failures ranked fifth in frequency at about 22% of cases but carried the highest average indemnity payment of $165,000.
Insurance Business adds that clinical judgment issues were the next highest by average indemnity at $162,000, compared with an overall average indemnity of $121,000 across the dataset. The insurer also noted that 36% of dentistry cases required an indemnity payment to close, with average gross expense incurred at $29,000.
The report includes a case summary in which a delayed oral cancer diagnosis escalated losses. According to the outlet, a patient with lichen planus had lesions treated over several years without a definitive diagnosis until squamous cell carcinoma was confirmed at stage IV, leading to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, with lasting impairments described in the account.