• 61-year-old Janet Gibbons has lost a tooth and will lose another because her dentists failed to spot and treat decay
• She had to undergo two root canal treatments and had a holiday ruined
• £10,000 awarded in compensation
Ms Janet Gibbons, a 61-year-old retiree from Astley, Manchester, has won £10,000 in compensation from her local dentists with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership. Ms Gibbons’ dentists’ consistent failure to spot and treat decay led to her needing two root canal treatments and the extraction of one of her teeth. She will also lose another tooth in the future.
Ms Gibbons visited Dr Giedre Liubsyte, Dr Dimitros Neofytou and Dr Andreas Kouloufakos at Astley Dental Centre in Astley, Manchester, between October 2013 and February 2017.
“I visited Dr Liubsyte for regular check-ups in 2013 and 2014,” Ms Gibbons said. “I was led to believe my teeth were in good health and I didn’t have any issues. But in 2015 a filling fell out, so I went to see Dr Neofytou. He replaced the filling, which I thought was a pretty routine procedure, so I thought that would be the end of it.”
Ms Gibbons then regularly saw Dr Kouloufakos between late 2015 and early 2017 for more check-ups. No dental work was carried out, she remained under the impression that her teeth were in good health.
“I trusted the dentists would tell me if something was wrong,” Ms Gibbons explained. “But in April 2017, I saw a new dentist who shockingly told me one of my teeth was in such bad condition it needed to be extracted immediately. He also said I needed root canal treatment at another tooth. I couldn’t believe it as my dentists had never flagged any problems.
“I believed my teeth were healthy, so to find out they were in such poor condition was a terrible shock. Three different dentists had treated me over a number of years, and none had sounded the alarm. I couldn’t believe it. My new dentist extracted my tooth a few days later, and I was told I needed many more appointments to fix additional problems.”
Ms Gibbons had to return for root canal treatment at another tooth, and also started suffering from toothache.
“During that summer I was in constant pain and discomfort,” Ms Gibbons recalled. “I was prescribed antibiotics on several occasions due to infections in the tooth.”
Ms Gibbons then had to have round of root canal treatment, and was still suffering from toothache. In September 2017, she was still in pain and was prescribed yet more antibiotics.
Ms Gibbons contacted the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of her dental records revealed that Dr Liubsyte, Dr Neofytou and Dr Koloufakos had consistently failed to spot and treat decay that was clearly visible on X-rays. This led to the multiple dental problems Ms Gibbons experienced. She has lost a tooth, had to undergo avoidable root canal treatments, and will lose another tooth in future.
“To think the decay went undetected for so long is unbelievable,” Ms Gibbons said. “I’ve had avoidable antibiotics and root canal treatments all because my dentists weren’t doing their job properly. It’s shocking.”
Rob Pettitt of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The dental issues our client experienced were completely unnecessary. If the dentists had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, her significant problems could have been avoided, and this is reflected in the settlement.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms Gibbons’ case in 2017. The case was successfully settled in 2019 when the dentists paid £10,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentists did not admit liability.
