I was in a situation that I shouldn’t have been in, buying something I shouldn’t have. During the transaction a fight broke out and I got hit in the mouth. My tooth is pretty loose. I know I need to see a dentist, but don’t want to get in legal trouble. Does he need to know how it happened?

Name Withheld

Dear Anonymous,

There is doctor/patient confidentiality, but that doesn’t cover every situation. For instance, if he were to think that you were a danger to yourself or others, than he would be obligated to report it. Other than that, he would generally keep the information to himself.

With any emergency dental situation, you just need to be honest about the physical implications of your injury.  It’s up to you what you tell the dentist. He at the very least needs to know what happened to your mouth. You could just tell him you got into a fight. He doesn’t necessarily need to know why.

This blog is brought to you by Oklahoma City Dentist Dr. Don Swearingen.