£30K award following ‘decade of neglect’ by dentist

Specialist dental negligence solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership, have won £30,000 in damages for a Middlesbrough man after more ten years of dental neglect by his dentist resulted in him losing seven teeth, undergoing four avoidable root canal treatments and five avoidable crowns placed.

Kevin Bowes, 53, a semi-retired teacher at a specialist children’s unit in Cleveland, has recently won a two-year legal battle against Dr Nicholas Crees after a visit to another dentist uncovered an array of dental problems leaving Kevin with decay in multiple teeth and would need extensive remedial treatment to fix the catalogue of problems.

Associate solicitor, Kate Chadwick at the Dental Law Partnership, said: “Kevin has been the victim of mistreatment by his dentist for years. This decade of neglect was a real catalogue of errors with Dr Nicholas Crees failing to diagnose and treat decay and carrying out extractions without informed consent.

“Fortunately, he visited another dentist for a second opinion, who immediately spotted the problem otherwise, left untreated, Mr Bowes may well have lost more of his teeth.”

Kevin and his family had been visiting Dr Nicholas Crees for over ten years when, in January 2013, by chance, a friend of the family who was a qualified dental nurse suggested that Kevin’s wife visit a different dentist for a second opinion on her dental health. When his wife was told that she had problems with her teeth, he also decided to get a second opinion. The diagnosis was not good. Kevin was told that had decay in many teeth which would need remedial treatment.

Kevin said: “I was horrified when the second dentist revealed the extent of the problems with my teeth. This horror quickly turned to anger as I realised that I had entrusted all my family to this dentist, and he had let us all down and betrayed our trust.

“What followed was nearly 18 months of long-winded, painful treatment with over a dozen trips to the dental hospital for remedial work. I had to suspend my treatment in early 2014 to undergo a quadruple heart bypass and give myself enough time to recuperate before the dental treatment continued.

“I had more X-rays than I care to remember and my teeth were so decayed the dentist described them as ‘apple cores’.

“I feel completely let down by Dr Crees. He allowed my teeth to deteriorate so badly over the decade I visited him and all the time with a smile and a friendly demeanour which made you feel you were in good hands – how wrong I was.”

In February 2013 Kevin was referred to specialist dental negligence lawyers at the Dental Law Partnership by a local solicitor. His claim was eventually settled out of court for £30,000 in February this year, though Dr Crees did not admit liability.

Kevin concluded: “The service I received from Dental Law Partnership was great but I know that poor dental health, can cause other implications, so my experience with Dr Crees has left me angry. The worst thing was that I potentially put my children at risk by sending them to Dr Crees and that’s not something that sits well with me – he’s betrayed all our trust.

I used to be a successful entertainer and full of confidence. However, I have been advised that my treatment does not end here and I am likely to need ongoing treatment for years – it’s really knocked my confidence and has changed my life forever.”