Russian tourist sues dentist, clinic for allegedly defective tooth extraction

A frequent Russian visitor is suing a dentist and his clinic for alleged negligence during the extraction of a tooth that created a defect in his gums.

Pavel Soloviev, through counsel William Fitzgerald, is suing Dr. Alan Stuart Markoff and Toothworks Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the NMI for negligence and violation of the Consumer Protection Act. Solovied is demanding unspecified damages, court costs and attorney’s fees.

Saipan Tribune tried but failed to obtain comments from Markoff.

Solovie, a resident of Vladivostok, Russia, is a frequent visitor to Saipan in the last 10 years.

According to the complaint, Markoff extracted one of Soloviev’s teeth on Nov. 2, 2011, at Markoff’s advice. Soon after, Soloviev began having extreme pain and he returned to Toothworks to have the problem corrected.

Fitzgerald said that Markoff told Soloviev that there was no problem, that the extraction had been performed correctly, and that any pain was caused by the patient’s smoking. The dentist then prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.

Soloviev continued to be treated by Toothworks and Markoff throughout 2012, specifically in January, February, August, and September. He said during these treatments, Toothworks and Markoff claimed to have closed an oral antral fistula.

On Aug. 24, 2012, Fitzgerald said, the dentist probed the oral antral fistula to locate a foreign body in Soloviev’s sinus, falsely reporting in their records that they had located and removed it.

On Sept. 11, 2012, Soloviev sought treatment at Toothworks for the worsening problem of his sinus, complaining of pus coming out of his nose.

Markoff again allegedly prescribed antibiotics and painkillers, and advised anew that patient’s problem was caused by his smoking.

Fitzgerald said that despite several attempts to treat Soloviev’s sinus problem, his condition became progressively worse. After nine months, Soloviev finally sought help from a Russian dentist in Vladivostok, Dr. E.D. Edranov, on Sept. 26, 2012.

Upon examination, Fitzgerald said that Edranov found a hole in Soloviev’s gum tissue where Markoff had extracted his tooth, forming an open hole between the mouth and the maxillary sinus cavity.

Fitzgerald said the hole was lined with red and edematous tissue, filled with thick mucus, and was oozing purulent pus, and a foreign substance was found lodged in his sinus, which was causing his problem.

Edranov diagnosed Soloviev as suffering from a chronic and severe genyantritis, requiring immediate surgery to correct.

On Oct. 11, 2012, Edranov operated on Soloviev, opening his maxillary sinus and removing the foreign material and the purulent pus.

Fitzgerald said that Markoff failed to properly seal the hole and instead applied an artificial substance normally used for creating a temporary bridge.

The lawyer said this foreign substance then migrated through the hole that Markoff had created into Soloviev’s sinus cavity.