Dental injury claim
Dental injury after a motor accident
A steering wheel, airbag, dashboard, helmet or road strike can fracture, loosen or avulse teeth and damage supporting bone. Treatment costs and WPI are different questions. Dental damage is only assessable as permanent impairment where it has a permanent effect on chewing or swallowing and/or causes loss of facial structural integrity.
Accident mechanism and diagnosis
How can this injury happen in a motor accident?
Mouth strike inside a vehicle
Contact with a steering wheel, dashboard, airbag or seat can fracture crowns, roots, alveolar bone or dental restorations.
Motorcycle or pedestrian impact
A face-first fall may avulse teeth, fracture the mandible or maxilla and damage the bite.
Intubation or emergency treatment complication
A severe crash may involve dental damage during airway management; causation requires the hospital record and dental chronology.
The injuries that may actually occur
- chipped or fractured crown or root
- luxated or avulsed tooth
- alveolar bone or maxillary fracture
- loss of a bridge, implant or denture support
- malocclusion and reduced mastication after reconstruction
Symptoms and functional effects to document
- pain or sensitivity during early treatment
- difficulty biting or chewing particular textures
- altered bite or jaw fatigue
- speech or swallowing difficulty in more extensive injury
- ongoing prosthesis dependence or dietary restriction
Urgent health warning
An avulsed adult tooth, uncontrolled oral bleeding, unstable jaw, airway problem or facial fracture requires urgent dental or hospital care.
Medical evidence
What tests and findings matter?
The assessment needs pre-accident dental status, current X-rays, treatment completed and the permanent result while using any prosthesis that was normal before the accident.
| Test or record | What it can establish | What it cannot establish alone |
|---|---|---|
| Dental examination and charting | Identifies tooth loss, restorations, occlusion, mobility and functional chewing surfaces. | A list of repaired teeth does not show permanent mastication impairment. |
| Current dental X-rays or CBCT | Shows roots, bone loss, fracture, implants and structural support where required by clause 6.198. | Radiographic damage alone does not establish dietary restriction or WPI. |
| Prosthodontic or maxillofacial report | Explains reconstruction, prosthesis, prognosis, bite and structural facial effect. | The cost or complexity of treatment is not itself the impairment percentage. |
| Diet and mastication history | Documents the textures that can be managed, chewing efficiency and swallowing effect after treatment. | Temporary soft-diet advice during healing is not permanent dietary restriction. |
A separate legal classification
Threshold injury is not the same as WPI
A tooth fracture, avulsion or facial bone injury may be more than a soft tissue injury, but classification depends on the diagnosed accident injury. Dental treatment cost, threshold injury and WPI remain separate questions.
A non-threshold classification does not set a WPI percentage. Conversely, a low or zero WPI assessment does not necessarily decide the threshold-injury classification. Physical and psychiatric WPI are assessed separately and cannot be combined to determine whether impairment is greater than 10%.
Motor Accident Guidelines Part 6
How is permanent impairment assessed?
Clauses 6.194-6.198 modify AMA4 Chapter 9. Assessment is carried out with the pre-accident-normal prosthesis. A first or different post-accident prosthesis is accounted for. Permanent dental damage is rated only where mastication/deglutition or facial structural integrity remains affected.
| Assessment issue | CTP method | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Chewing or swallowing restriction | Apply AMA4 Chapter 9 mastication/deglutition method and Table 6 where permanent dietary restriction is supported. | Clause 6.197 corrects the first Table 6 category to 0-19%, not 5-19%; the range is not a self-selected WPI. |
| Facial structural loss | Assess permanent loss of structural integrity and cosmetic deformity under the applicable facial method. | The same tooth or bone consequence cannot be counted twice as both function and appearance. |
| Prosthesis effect | Assess wearing the prosthesis normal before the accident and account for a first or different accident-required prosthesis. | Do not rate an avoidable uncorrected state if the prescribed method requires the prosthesis context. |
Verified Guidelines example or rule
Clauses 6.195-6.197 verify that dental damage requires permanent mastication/deglutition and/or facial structural effect, and that the first category in AMA4 Table 6 is 0-19%, not 5-19%.
What may result in 0% or no assessable WPI?
- a repaired tooth with restored bite and no permanent dietary or structural effect
- temporary chewing restriction during dental treatment
- cosmetic dental change without qualifying structural facial impairment
- pain or sensitivity alone after function has returned
What may support a higher assessment if verified?
- permanent loss of effective chewing surfaces despite appropriate prosthetic treatment
- documented lasting dietary restriction
- malocclusion or bone loss affecting mastication
- distinct permanent facial structural loss after reconstruction
Combination and overlap rules
- Functional mastication loss and cosmetic structural loss may be combined only where they are distinct and both are supported.
- Jaw/TMJ limitation should be assessed under the applicable mastication method without counting the same dietary loss twice.
- Pain receives no separate AMA4 Chapter 15 allowance.
What does not establish impairment by itself?
- the number of teeth treated
- the dental invoice total
- an X-ray without functional assessment
- a temporary soft diet
Crash-specific examples
Two incisors fractured and restored
Treatment costs may be payable, but if biting, chewing and facial structure are restored, the injury may leave 0% permanent impairment.
Multiple tooth loss with a new removable prosthesis
The assessor considers function with the accident-required prosthesis and any permanent dietary or facial structural loss, not the untreated gap alone.
Claim file preparation
Evidence checklist
Assessment source
Dental impairment assessment under NSW CTP
Assessment source: Motor Accident Guidelines Part 6, clauses 6.194-6.198; AMA4 Chapter 9 mastication and deglutition, including Table 6 (page 231).
Threshold injury: A tooth or facial bone injury may be non-threshold; permanent impairment requires the separate function or structural criteria.
What the assessor checks
- pre-accident-normal prosthesis context
- permanent mastication/deglutition effect
- facial structural integrity where applicable
- current dental X-rays where needed
What does not establish the result by itself
- tooth loss alone
- dental cost
- temporary diet
- pain without permanent function loss
Official sources
Related NSW CTP guides
Free claim check
Review the diagnosis, insurer decision and evidence together
Send the accident date, insurer decision, relevant hospital or specialist reports, and any deadline shown. NSW CTP Claim is a specialised service of Stephen Young Lawyers. Legal services are provided by Stephen Young Lawyers.
Frequently asked questions
- Does every broken tooth produce WPI?
- No. The Guidelines require a permanent effect on chewing or swallowing and/or facial structural integrity.
- Are current dental X-rays needed?
- They may be. Clause 6.198 says current X-rays will be necessary in some cases.
- Is assessment done without my denture?
- If a dental prosthesis was normal before the crash, assessment is done wearing it. A first or different accident-required prosthesis is accounted for.
- Can dental treatment still be claimed if WPI is 0%?
- Potentially. Reasonable and necessary treatment benefits and permanent impairment are separate issues.
- Does a jaw fracture use the tooth-loss method?
- Not automatically. The assessor identifies the lasting chewing, structural, nerve or joint consequence and applies the relevant method.