• 50 year old woman will lose 26 teeth due to her dentist’s failure to spot her periodontal disease.
• She suffered years of discomfort due to ill-fitting crowns
• £85,000 awarded in compensation
Mrs H first attended her dental practice in March 1998 and continued to attend for regular treatment until July 2014.
“I had been a long standing patient with my dentist and the practice for 16 years and I trusted him with my oral health. I believed he was looking after my teeth, especially after seeing him for so many years, I trusted he knew what he was doing.”
Throughout the course of her treatment at her dental practice Mrs H attended two appointments a year and always followed her dentist’s advice about her oral hygiene.
However, Mrs H had begun to experience some discomfort in her mouth and constant toothache, she continued to attend her regular appointments and eventually had 9 crowns fitted in her teeth.
“My dentist reassured me there were no serious problems with my teeth, I knew crowns were fairly common so I assumed this was all the treatment I needed and the pain would eventually subside”
After still suffering from a particularly sore mouth Mrs H returned to her dentist in July 2014 for an appointment. After her dentist examined her mouth, he informed her that she was suffering from bone loss and would need a tooth extracting.
“I was very shocked that he had told me I had bone loss and I would need a tooth extracting! There had been no indication of this before, he had repeatedly told me everything was fine with me teeth and so I knew something wasn’t right, when I left the appointment that day I decided to see another dentist for a second opinion.”
Mrs H made an appointment to see a new dentist in October later that year.
“I was checked over by the dentist and my heart dropped at what he told me….”
Her dentist informed her that she was suffering from periodontal disease that had been untreated for so long she would lose 26 of her teeth in the future.
The crowns she had received from her dentist of 16 years had been poorly fit and that was causing the discomfort she had been experiencing, she was told they would need to be replaced.
Mrs H contacted the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of her dental records revealed that her dentist had consistently failed to diagnose and treat her periodontal disease between 1998 and 2014. The dentist had also failed to properly fit 9 of her crowns. All this led to the never ending problems Mrs H experienced and will result in the loss of 26 teeth.
“I am so angry, I spent so much money going to the dentist and I never missed an appointment. I am devastated that I will be losing 26 of my teeth, I’m only 50 years old! That’s basically all of my teeth just because my dentist did not do his job properly!” I have lost my confidence and I hate my smile now, I even declined having a photographer at my wedding due to the constant worry of my smile.”
Tim Armitage of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentists had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, all her problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs H‘s case in 2016. The case was successfully settled in 2019 when the dentists paid £85,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist did not admit liability.
