There is a vast amount of research and literature that indicates removal of Sargenti Paste overfills which are causing numbness or pain should occur immediately after the injury. Obtaining your dental records and consulting with an Oral Surgeon ASAP is warranted. The Sargenti proponents state, in various documentation, that the "disinfecting" properties of Sargenti Paste continues for 7-10 days. That likely means that the formaldehyde gasses continue to permeate the nerve, tissue and bone outside of the tooth, thus the damage is progressive.

Once you have obtained the necessary medical attention, you should

1) Get your dental records NOW, including xrays. If you dentist does not willing give you your records, remind them of their legal requirement to do so under HIPAA. If necessary, report them to HIPAA. Contact us for help if you need it.

2) File a complaint with your state dental board. Links can be found on our State Dental Boards page. If a link is not available for your state, you can Google for them or contact us. Each state board website should provide a link to the complaint form. Be sure to include a release of request form if asked for. Do not sit back and wait for the board to do something. Many boards will take no action if not pressed by the injured patient. Within a month or two of filing the complaint, start calling, faxing and/or writing letters. Without your efforts more patients will be injured. Be detailed in your complaint. The dental board is the licensing board and therefore has jurisdiction to enforce sanctions against any dentist operating below the standard of care.

3) File a Medwatch report (adverse event report) with the FDA per the link in the upper right corner of this website and ask your treating doctor to file a Medwatch report on your behalf. A guide to reporting can be found on the FDA website at this link - www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/reporting_guide061008.html.

Medwatch reports are voluntarily for patients and doctors, consequently over 90% of adverse events are never reported.

4) Report your situation to the American Dental Association (mediarelations@ada.org) and the American Association of Endodontics (info@aae.org). If you wish to report directly to the ADA and AAE board members, please contact us. We recommend that you include the name of the offending dentist. You can use the same complaint that was sent to the State Dental Board if desired.

5) Report your situation to your state dental association. State Dental Associations are state chapters of the ADA. You can google to find them by using the search phrase Your State Dental Association (insert the name of your state for Your State). Note, your state dental association has no enforcement or disciplinary power. That is handled by the State Dental Board, also commonly referred to as a State Dental Licensing Board. They control a dentist's license and have disiplinary power. You can use the same complaint to the State Dental Board if desired.

6) Contact a dental malpractice attorney. The use of Sargenti Paste is consider worldwide to be below the standard of care. If you are injured, you are entitled to compensation for that injury and dentists need to be sent a clear message that using this material will not be tolerated by the public.

The Sargenti Opposition Society has experience with San Francisco dental attorney, Dr. Edwin Zinman (www.toothattorney.com), and as a result of our experience, recommend him as an excellent point of contact for dental malpractice issues or concerns. If you are outside the state of California, Dr. Zinman can refer you to and/or co-consult with a malpractice attorney in your state.  Dr. Zinman is a periodontist and attorney.