South West Woman Wins Double Payout After Dental Fiasco

A DLP client has been awarded a total of £11,250 in compensation from two dentists at the same practice after a catalogue of errors left her without two teeth.

Dr I and Mr N were sued by Mrs A after she lost two teeth because of poor dental treatment.

Dr I agreed to pay Mrs A £5,750 in damages and Mr N compensated his former patient with £5,500 in out of court settlements.

Mr N carried out root canal treatments on two of Mrs A’s teeth between 2003 and 2010.

X-rays taken at the practice in 2003 showed she had decay in one tooth and infection in another, which Mr N failed to treat despite her going for regular appointments over seven years.

Mrs A said: “I registered at the practice in November 2003 and saw Mr N for a routine check-up. He said I needed root canal treatment to remove decay.”

Mr N then carried out the procedure over two appointments. However, an X-ray taken in her follow-up appointment showed the procedure had only been partially completed.

In 2010 Mr N carried out a root canal treatment on Mrs A’s other tooth, which had been infected since 2003, but X-rays again later revealed that only part of the root canals had been filled.

Dr I then treated Mrs A for a broken tooth in March 2012.

Mrs A said: “Dr I said I needed to have root canal treatment and crown fitted to fix it. It wasn’t until I went back for a follow-up appointment that I found out something had gone wrong with his work too.”

X-rays revealed the root canal treatment had destroyed the tooth structure and perforated the root of the tooth.

“This was very bad news,” said Mrs A. “It looked as though I would need to have the tooth taken out or see a root canal specialist. I was at this stage very frustrated.”

After seeking a second opinion from a different dental practice, Mrs A got the news she was fearing and in June 2012 the tooth was removed.

The dentist at the new practice then took more X-rays on the original teeth treated by Mr N. They confirmed that both root canal treatments were poorly executed and there was continuing decay and structural damage.

The dentist advised that Mrs A would need to have one tooth taken out and that they would repeat the root canal treatment on the other. This was completed in August 2012.

Unfortunately in January 2013 there were further problems.

Mrs A said: “My tooth wasn’t healing properly and had started to decay. My dentist told me they’d monitor it for six months, but would have to take it out if things didn’t get any better.”

Leading dental negligence specialists, The Dental Law Partnership (DLP), took on both of Mrs A’s cases and showed evidence that she had suffered as a direct result of the treatment carried out by both dentists.

DLP solicitor Jenny Wood said: “Both dentists made a number of errors when treating Mrs A. The care provided was far below the high standards expected of dental professionals and has led to far-reaching consequences for her.”

Mrs A said: “What happened to me is still fresh in my mind so I’m still coming to terms with it. I’m glad my case has now been settled so I can close that chapter of my life and move forward.”

Dr I did not admit liability. Mr N denied liability for part of his treatment of Denise.

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