Is it ok for a school nurse to pull a child's loose tooth?!
Question: Is it ok for a school nurse to pull a child's loose tooth.?
My daughter is always asking me to pull her teeth as soon as they become a little loose. She says they feel funny, which is pretty normal, but mostly she just wants to collect her loot from the Tooth Fairy. I've talked to her about how how the tooth will come out when it's ready, and that it's really just best to wait.
The last time she had a loose tooth the school nurse pulled it out. It was too soon, and the gums healed up over the new tooth, then my 6-year old was basically teething for a few weeks, waiting for the new tooth to cut through. Other than some pain and discomfort there were no issues, so I just let it run it's course and didn't say anything.
My daughter has been complaining of another loose tooth for a few weeks now. I check it almost daily, and it was not very close to coming out (maybe wiggled 45 degrees from front to back, no indication of new tooth being near.) The school nurse attempted to pull it out today, and the tooth broke. There is at least one chip, possibly two, still embedded in the gum. The gum is red and swollen and it is painful for my girl to eat or drink. I have an emergency dentist appt scheduled for tomorrow to extract the rest of it, but my question is this: Is it even legal for the nurse to make the judgement call and extract the tooth on her own.? I am not happy about it, it's happened twice now, and I want to know if I have any basis to complain to the school or if the nurse is legally acting within her rights.
Thanks for your help.Health Question & Answer
The last time she had a loose tooth the school nurse pulled it out. It was too soon, and the gums healed up over the new tooth, then my 6-year old was basically teething for a few weeks, waiting for the new tooth to cut through. Other than some pain and discomfort there were no issues, so I just let it run it's course and didn't say anything.
My daughter has been complaining of another loose tooth for a few weeks now. I check it almost daily, and it was not very close to coming out (maybe wiggled 45 degrees from front to back, no indication of new tooth being near.) The school nurse attempted to pull it out today, and the tooth broke. There is at least one chip, possibly two, still embedded in the gum. The gum is red and swollen and it is painful for my girl to eat or drink. I have an emergency dentist appt scheduled for tomorrow to extract the rest of it, but my question is this: Is it even legal for the nurse to make the judgement call and extract the tooth on her own.? I am not happy about it, it's happened twice now, and I want to know if I have any basis to complain to the school or if the nurse is legally acting within her rights.
Thanks for your help.Health Question & Answer
Answers:
I don't believe she was practicing legally when she did that. Check with the State Board of Nursing in the state where you live. I believe it is malpractice on her part. Most things that a nurse does must be under orders of a doctor. I am a nurse-not a lawyer- and I believe you may have a cause for a lawsuit, especially since your daughter was more severely injured and is going to require further care than she would have, if the tooth had been allowed to fall out on its own.
There are "Good Samaritan" laws that protect medical professionals who stop to give aid in emergencies-like a car accident from being sued. But this was clearly not an emergency. Your school nurse was doing what is called practicing outside her scope of medicine. I would be interested to hear what happens in your case. I would definitely call it to the attention of school officials and the school board.Health Question & Answer
There are "Good Samaritan" laws that protect medical professionals who stop to give aid in emergencies-like a car accident from being sued. But this was clearly not an emergency. Your school nurse was doing what is called practicing outside her scope of medicine. I would be interested to hear what happens in your case. I would definitely call it to the attention of school officials and the school board.Health Question & Answer
It all depends on where you live. The laws change from country to country, state to state.
In most countries, no it is within their rights to pull a child's loose tooth, that is up to a parent/guardian or a dental professional.Health Question & Answer
In most countries, no it is within their rights to pull a child's loose tooth, that is up to a parent/guardian or a dental professional.Health Question & Answer
There are two sides to every story. Talk to the school nurse and ask why she did this. Maybe your child hit her tooth or tried to pull it out and it was just hanging there. Chances are the pieces would fall out on their own but you don't want to leave it if she is having discomfort. The school may have dental benefits that will pay for the dental visit. Try to find out before you go and if you can't, have the dental office make notes that this happened at school and get receipts so you can submit them later. I wouldn't think that a nurse would be allowed to do this, but is there much you can do.? You really need to have a long talk with your daughter because next time it could be a classmate pulling out her teeth or she could try to pull out her permanent ones. This may be a blessing in disguise because she may learn her lesson having to go to the dentist!!Health Question & Answer
A lot of the time school nurses have little to no experience. If she caused that kind of a problem at the very least you should make sure that the school/superintendent knows. And you can ask the dentist when you go in if the school nurse was within her rights. I would bet that she would be able to give you a broad perspective. But you may have a case to get the costs of the emergency appointment reimbursed.Health Question & Answer
I guess after thinking about it, that it probably isn't appropriate for a school nurse to pull a tooth. also considering the possible legal issues, I can't imagine the school district would allow this. I would contact the Board of Ed and find out thier policy and make them aware of what happened. I am not one that advocates lawsuits, so if nothing really bad happens, I certainly wouldn't condone one, but the nurse should face some discipline for this.Health Question & Answer