A MAN FROM THE SOUTH EAST HAS LOST HIS TOOTH AND UNDERWENT UNESSECARY ROOT CANAL TREAMENT AFTER HIS DENTIST FAILED TO SPOT TOOTH DECAY.
• Mr L lost his tooth after his dentist failed to spot and treat tooth decay.
• He also underwent unnecessary pain and an avoidable root canal procedure.
• £10,000 awarded in compensation
Mr L a man from the South East of England has been awarded £10,000 in compensation with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership.
Mr L visited his dentist Dr A between 2004 and 2016.
“In 2004 I had developed some tooth ache so I decided to make an appointment to go see my dentist Dr A. He took some X-rays but didn’t offer any actual treatment, but the tooth ache subsided a bit so I initially thought nothing more of it”
Just a week later our client went back to his dentist due to sensitivity to hot and cold but again Dr A offered no treatment.
Our client kept attending regular appointments with his dentist for the next 5 years.
“My tooth ache had gotten progressively worse so in April 2010 Dr A booked me in for a root canal treatment, I was a little nervous but the pain and sensitivity in my mouth had become pretty much constant now” The root canal treatment took place in May and was completed the following month with a filling
Mr L continued to have regular appointments with his dentist until 2016.
“I had had another filling fitted back in 2012 shortly after the root canal treatment but the pain continued, in hindsight it was ridiculous because I was back and forth to dental appointments and nothing was easing my pain”
Mr A had had enough and due to the severe pain he was experiencing he decided to seek a second opinion and attended an emergency dental appointment with a new dentist.
But he was shocked at what he was told.
“I was informed that I had severe tooth decay that had been untreated for so long that my tooth would need extracting. The whole ordeal was a nightmare.”
Mr A was also advised that the extraction could have been avoided if treated sooner and that the root canal treatment he received could have been completed avoided had the dentist treated the decay that first appeared in xrays in 2004.
Mr L contacted the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of his dental records revealed that the dentist had consistently failed to spot and treat decay that was clearly visible in X-rays. This led to years of pain and avoidable treatment and the extraction of his tooth.
Nicholas Hampson of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, all his problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr L’s case in 2018. The case was successfully settled in 2020 when the dentist paid £10,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist denied liability.
