South Glamorgan man awarded payout after dentist causes tooth loss
A local man has been awarded £6,000 in an out of court settlement after a poorly fitting bridge resulted in the loss of two teeth.Mike Anderson, 64, from Llanwit Major, sued his dentist after the bridge he fitted while practising at Wyndham House Dental Practice left him experiencing on going dental complications.
Mike said: “I had a bridge fitted on my top front teeth but it always caused me problems. It was uncomfortable and frequently came loose, which was very embarrassing.“It was only when I had to go to the dental hospital in 2009 because it was so painful that I was informed that the bridge had been poorly made and fitted on to unsuitable teeth so could not be saved.”
Evidence provided to Mike’s lawyer, Jenny Wyatt from the UK’s leading specialist dental negligence law firm, the Dental Law Partnership, showed that the teeth on which the bridge was fitted were not strong enough to support it.
Wyatt explained: “One tooth should have had root canal treatment before it was used to support the bridge. Because this treatment wasn’t carried out, the tooth weakened under the pressure of the bridge and subsequently needed extracting.
“A second tooth was lost because the dentist decided to extract the weak tooth when he could have fitted a post and crown, which would have preserved it.
“Mike’s dentist fitted this bridge without considering the state of the supporting teeth or the impact a bridge would have on them. By failing to do this, he has caused my client to suffer the embarrassment of having a bridge which repeatedly fell out and the loss of two teeth. ”
Mike said: “It’s very upsetting to think that this could have been avoided, but I am glad that the case has been settled and I can move on and fix the problem. The money will pay for the remedial treatment I need.” The dentist has not admitted liability.