LACK OF SKILL, NEGLIGENCE AND OMISSION IN DENTAL PRACTICE: THE CIVIL LIABILITY OF DENTISTS – AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze, in light of recent scientific literature and Brazilian law, the situations in which lack of skill, negligence and omission by dentists give rise to the duty to compensate, as well as the prevention strategies described. This is an integrative review conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS/BVS and Google Scholar, including studies published between 2021 and 2026 selected according to PRISMA 2020, complemented by documentary analysis of legislation and Superior Court of Justice precedents. Twenty-three studies were included. Litigation increased, with conviction rates ranging from 28.3% to 68%, mainly involving implant dentistry, prosthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics and orthodontics; orofacial harmonization emerged as a new field of disputes. Lack of skill was associated with intraoperative technical failures, whereas negligence and omission were related to incomplete records, deficient informed consent and failures in communication, infection control and follow-up. It is concluded that the liability of the self-employed dentist is, as a rule, fault-based, although the obligation of result in aesthetic procedures worsens the dentist's procedural position, and that prevention depends on technical competence, clear communication, complete documentation and informed consent.