United States Court of Appeals

For the Seventh Circuit

Chicago, Illinois 60604

Submitted September 19, 2012*

Decided September 26, 2012

Before

FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge

         ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge

           DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge

No. 12‐2179

JOHN BRADY,

Plaintiff‐Appellant,

v.

STEVEN ALDRIDGE and

LOUIS SHICKER,   

Defendants‐Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District

Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

No. 11‐cv‐525‐JPG

J. Phil Gilbert,

Judge.

O R D E R

John Brady, an Illinois prisoner, appeals the dismissal of his complaint under 42

U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that prison officials violated the Eighth Amendment by

administering deficient dental care. We affirm.

In his complaint, Brady claimed that Steven Aldridge, a prison dentist, had

attempted to extract a decayed tooth without ordering up‐to‐date x‐rays or conducting an

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION

To be cited only in accordance with

Fed. R. App. P. 32.1

*

Appellees were not served with process in the district court, and have not filed

briefs or otherwise participated in this appeal. After examining appellant’s brief and the

record, we have concluded that oral argument is unnecessary. Thus, the appeal is submitted

on the briefs and the record. See FED. R. APP. P. 34(a)(2)(C).
No. 12‐2179 Page 2

“adequate” examination. According to Brady, Aldridge discovered upon removing the

tooth’s crown that its root was fused to his jawbone and could be removed only with

surgery. Aldridge left the root of the tooth exposed, Brady alleged, and told him that the

surgery would be performed at a later date. In the meantime Brady’s tooth hurt and he had

difficulty eating (Brady doesn’t say how long he had to wait for surgery). Brady also placed

responsibility on Louis Shicker, the medical director for the Illinois Department of

Corrections, for the allegedly inadequate dental care, because of his oversight of prison

medical policies.

The district court screened Brady’s complaint, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, and dismissed it

for failing to state a claim. The court concluded that Brady’s claim against Aldridge may

have constituted negligence, but it did not amount to deliberate indifference. The court also

noted that Brady did not allege that Shicker was personally responsible for his dental care

and could not be held liable under a theory of respondeat superior.

On appeal, Brady maintains that he sufficiently stated a deliberate‐indifference claim

against Aldridge by alleging that cost savings rather than professional judgment motivated

the doctor’s attempt to extract his tooth without the benefit of new x‐rays or a thorough

examination. But to state a claim of deliberate indifference, a prisoner must allege that a

prison official recklessly or intentionally disregarded a substantial risk of serious harm.

Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976); McGowan v. Hulick, 612 F.3d 636, 641 (7th Cir. 2010).

Though his dental problem is a serious medical condition, see Berry v. Peterman, 604 F.3d

435, 440 (7th Cir. 2010); Board v. Farnham, 394 F.3d 469, 480 (7th Cir. 2005), he did not

plausibly allege that Aldridge recklessly or intentionally harmed him. His allegations about

the absence of new x‐rays or a thorough examination reflect merely a disagreement with

Aldridge’s professional judgment and did not state a claim for deliberate indifference.

See Greeno v. Daley, 414 F.3d 645, 653 (7th Cir. 2005); Ciarpaglini v. Saini, 352 F.3d 328, 331

(7th Cir. 2003). We add that the district court properly dismissed Brady’s claim against

Shicker because the doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply to § 1983 suits and Brady

did not allege that Shicker was personally responsible for his dental care. See Knight v.

Wiseman, 590 F.3d 458, 462–63 (7th Cir. 2009); Johnson v. Snyder, 444 F.3d 579, 583 (7th Cir.

2006).

Brady incurred one “strike” for filing his complaint and incurs another for this

appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); Hains v. Washington, 131 F.3d 1248, 1250 (7th Cir. 1997).

AFFIRMED.