North West Man Receives £9,000 Payout After 3 Dentists Fail Him.

Mr I, sued three dentists from Manchester – after they failed to identify tooth decay over a period of four years.

Mr I, who has a congenital condition which affects the strength of his tooth enamel, had all his teeth crowned at the age of 21 to protect his enamel. As a result of his condition, Mr I had always been fastidious with his dental care.

Mr I said: “I’ve always looked after my teeth and made sure I visited my dentist every six months, which makes it even more frustrating that things have gone wrong.

“I had been visiting Dr E, Dr R and Dr O since 2008 and had been told that my teeth were fine.”

In 2008 and 2009 Mr I attended two check-up appointments with Dr E and no problems were identified with the offending teeth.

In 2010 Mr I was seen four times by Dr R between September and November and still no decay was identified.

Mr I returned in May 2011 and saw Dr O for his routine six month check-up. “I raised concerns about the severe pain I was experiencing,” he said.

Dr O took x-rays which showed decay in two upper teeth and one lower so in June she put fillings into both upper teeth. Poorly as it later turned out, and omitted to treat the tooth in the lower right side of Mr I’s mouth.

In July 2012 Mr I went in again to see Dr O who found decay in a lower right tooth. Dr O immediately recommended a new crown on the upper right and lower right teeth and a possible root canal treatment.

However, in August 2012 when it came to the work being carried out it was discovered that the upper right tooth was too decayed and it had to be removed. Dr O could not complete the root canal treatment needed at the lower right tooth as she couldn’t locate all of the canals.

Mr I added: “I was so upset that the tooth had been removed. I had been so diligent with my dental hygiene and flagged up when I thought there was a problem, so it shouldn’t have come to that.

In autumn 2012, Mr I attended a private dentist who replaced the upper right tooth with an implant and carried out the root canal treatment needed in his lower right tooth.

Mr I was advised that another one of his teeth had an uncertain prognosis and would be lost in the future.

Leading dental negligence specialists, The Dental Law Partnership (DLP), took on Mr I’s case and was presented with evidence that showed he had suffered as a direct result of the treatment provided by all three dentists.

Mr I’s solicitor said: “Over the course of four years, all three dentists failed to promptly identify and then appropriately treat Mr I’s tooth decay, which has resulted in the avoidable loss of two teeth and further corrective work on another one.”

Mr I said: “Losing a tooth was really upsetting, especially as I’d put such effort into looking after them and had pointed out the problem well in advance. I am just glad it’s over and I can move on now.”

None of the dentists admitted liability.

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