What is the test for a dental malpractice claim?

16. I acknowledge the applicant’s concerns. However, to be successful in this dispute, the law is clear that the applicant must establish that: the respondent owed her a duty of care, the respondent failed to meet the applicable standard of care, that she sustained a loss, and that her loss was related to the respondent’s breach of the standard of care. The applicant’s allegations concern professional negligence in that she says that the respondent’s services fell below the standard of a reasonably competent dentist. In such cases, it generally is necessary for an applicant to prove a breach of the applicable standard of care with expert evidence as this is outside the knowledge or expertise of an ordinary person (see, for example, ter Neuzen v. Korn, 1995 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1995] 3 SCR 674 and Bergen v. Guliker, 2015 BCCA 283).