Temporal changes in dental malpractice litigation in Japan

Objectives: With the recent increase in the amount of dental malpractice litigation in Japan, factors potentially responsible for the incidence of dental disputes were explored. It is noteworthy that the dentist's explanation to the patient is a pivotal point in the growing amount of medical litigation. This study sought to identify factors related to legal liability and the differences over time.

Methods: The study analyzed decisions in dental malpractice litigation cases in Japan between 1972 and 2005. The content of each decision was summarized using the study variables (information about the patient, dentist, and subsequent litigation), and a database comprising the content of each decision (n = 42) was constructed. To evaluate variation in the study variables, the analysis was based on when the cases occurred: older cases between 1972 and 1990, and recent cases between 1992 and 2005.

Results: The proportion of cases in which patients received surgical treatment was lower for recent cases than for older cases (p = 0.028). The proportion of decisions finding the dentist negligent was higher in recent cases, in which the main issue was the dentist's duty to provide an explanation (p = 0.036). The proportion of unnecessary or non-urgent treatment cases was higher among recent cases than among older cases (p = 0.035).

Conclusions: The study identified characteristic changes in dental malpractice litigation cases in Japan from 1972 to 2005. It also revealed differences in the proportion of decisions in favor of the plaintiff in dental malpractice cases in which the pivotal issue was the dentist's explanation. These findings should help to prevent dental disputes.