Wells

INTRODUCTION

20 Plaintiff, a prisoner at San Quentin State Prison, filed this pro se civil rights case under 21 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 22 (“CDCR”), and three San Quentin employees: dentist Kenneth Eifert, Nurse Zakary Eaton, and 23 Sergeant D. Dews. He claims that defendants violated his Eighth Amendment rights by failing 24 to provide him with adequate care following a dental procedure. The claims against the CDCR 25 were dismissed, and plaintiff filed an amended complaint. The remaining defendants have filed 26 a motion for summary judgment, plaintiff filed an opposition, and defendants filed a reply brief. 27 For the reasons explained below, the motion for summary judgment is GRANTED IN PART AND

DENIED IN PART.

STATEMENT On April 26, 2018, defendant Eifert, a dentist at San Quentin, fixed a cracked filling in one of plaintiff’s wisdom teeth. After this procedure, plaintiff had Temporomandibular Joint Capsulitis (“TMJ”), i.e. pain and swelling in his jaw such that he could not open his mouth sufficiently to eat solid food. The TMJ was caused by pressure placed…