Types of Dental Injury Claim

It’s quite common to feel pain after dental work and it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a dental injury, as having any surgery can be painful after the anaesthetic has worn off. The area that has been worked on and the adjacent teeth will often be sore and sensitive after dental work has been completed, however if the pain doesn’t improve or seems to get worse, then this may be a sign of a larger problem.

It’s fairly normal for your gums to feel painful for a little while after dental surgery, as this is just the process of your gums repairing themselves, and you can sometimes also feel pain in your ears, tongue or cheeks – again, this can be normal, but if it doesn’t go away, you need to address the issue as soon as possible.

More serious pain may be felt in the neck or trigeminal nerve – for the latter, you’ll usually feel some numbness too. If you believe your pain has been caused by dental treatment and it won’t go away, our expert team will be able to advise you about whether you can claim it. For more information, head to our pain after dental work page.

Tooth extractions are a common procedure to undergo and tend to be risk-free, however some complications can arise. Tooth fracture may occur, and depending on whether it’s a complicated fracture or not, this can lead to even more issues with your tooth and the other permanent teeth surrounding it.

If extraction is not completed correctly, your teeth could break and cause tooth roots to be left in the gum. Some of the common complications that can occur include alveolar fractures, enamel fractures, enamel-dentine fractures, root fractures and uncomplicated crown fractures.

Other issues that can arise from tooth extraction include damaged nerves and wrong tooth extraction – more information about the latter can be found on our compensation for wrong tooth extraction page.

If you’ve undergone an uncomplicated crown fracture, enamel-dentine fracture or any other kind of fracture during dental work and your dentist has not resolved the issue correctly, you may have a claim on your hands. For more information on tooth extractions, head to our tooth extractions page.

Not everybody gets wisdom teeth, but those that do have them will know just how painful they can be! Wisdom tooth extraction is the most common treatment option for troublesome wisdom teeth, as the way they grow can affect your permanent teeth if they grow into them. Impacted wisdom teeth can also lead to broken teeth, tooth fragments splintering off and tooth malformation in rare cases.

Wisdom tooth extraction can be quite complicated, depending on the level of impaction, how close to the nerve the tooth roots are and how many wisdom teeth are being extracted, so complications are more likely to arise during this type of surgery. Dry socket is something that can happen after any tooth has been extracted, and it’s generally up to the patient to follow steps to avoid this from happening, unless their dentist has neglected to give them the appropriate dental care or aftercare advice.

Damage may also be caused to the surrounding teeth or the nerve, which can cause numbness and other dental complications. If you’ve had your wisdom teeth extracted recently and think you could be eligible to make a claim as a result, contact us today! For more information, head to our wisdom teeth page!

Restorative dentistry is a term used to describe dental care that restores damaged and decayed teeth, covering a range of different treatments. Some of the treatments restorative dentistry covers include root canal procedures (endodontic treatment), bridges, crowns and fillings.

As it’s such a broad category, restorative dentistry issues can lead to common complications such as infections. Many of our restorative dentistry claims come from the wrong treatment being provided or badly performed treatment, as well as the issue being incorrectly diagnosed in the first place.

If you’ve had restorative dentistry treatment recently and feel like something isn’t quite right, Dental Law are on hand to help! For more information, head to our restorative dentistry page!

Having a tooth extracted can be stressful enough when the right tooth is extracted, so having the wrong tooth extracted is obviously a very distressing situation.

Tooth extraction is largely considered to be a risk-free procedure if done correctly, but whilst it’s still quite a rare situation, the wrong teeth are occasionally extracted. Not only do you need to get the original tooth extracted, but you may also need to deal with the repercussions caused by extracting the wrong tooth.

If the wrong tooth is extracted, the fault will usually lie with the dentist who performed the surgery, and they should make you aware of the issue straight away. If they don’t, you may notice the pain from the tooth that needed extracting is still there, or you might notice a tooth missing that wasn’t supposed to be extracted. For more information, head to our compensation for wrong tooth extraction page.

Gum disease (otherwise known as periodontal disease) is quite a common issue and is not considered to be a dental emergency in the first stages. Gum disease is caused by plaque, which releases toxins that affect the entire structure of the tooth (the gums, periodontal ligament and the bone). Once it progresses, gum disease can have some rather nasty effects, including gum infections, wobbly teeth (usually leading to the loss of teeth), mouth pain, receding gums and damage to the jaw and gums, which could be permanent.

Because of the potential dental complications of gum disease, your dentist should diagnose and treat you promptly – if they don’t, you could have a serious case of dental negligence on your hands, especially if your gum disease leads to the common problems associated with the disease.

If you have dental complications from gum disease and think it could have been spotted sooner, contact us to see if we can claim for you! For more information, head to our gum disease page!

As well as medical treatments, people often choose to undergo cosmetic dentistry work to change the appearance of their permanent teeth, such as veneers, bridges and teeth whitening. Examples of issues that can be caused when having cosmetic dentistry treatment include badly fitted crowns, bridges and veneers, as well as unnecessary orthodontic work. Braces and teeth straightening procedures are fairly common for people who want to make their permanent teeth straighter in the future, particularly for children when their deciduous teeth have fallen out. Sometimes braces and teeth straightening surgery are recommended when they aren’t needed, and wearing braces and retainers unnecessarily can cause more damage to your teeth.

There are lots of different procedures that are classified within the cosmetic dentistry category, so for more detailed information, our cosmetic dentistry claims page is the best place to visit.

Several procedures can lead to nerve damage, which may cause a lot of physical and psychological dental trauma, as well as being very painful. The trigeminal nerve is the main nerve that can be affected, causing numbness and issues with eating, swallowing and drinking, amongst other things. Nerve damage can be caused by various dental procedures, including tooth extraction and implant treatment, so if you’ve had either of these procedures and have the symptoms of nerve damage, you need to get your teeth looked at as soon as possible.

If you’ve suffered tooth nerve damage, there is a high possibility that you might be able to file a claim – for more information, go to our tooth nerve damage page.

Aftercare is another aspect of dentistry that is less thought of, but no less important when thinking about the health of your teeth. Your dentist should be able to make a diagnosis based on the condition of your teeth during your post-treatment appointment or appointments. Check-ups are specifically designed as a diagnostic procedure, to see if you need treatment and for your dentist to advise accordingly on the next steps, if there are any. If you’ve already had a procedure carried out, your dentist should be advising you on whether there are any further treatments needed, as well as any cleaning tips to prevent infection and future issues from occurring.

If you don’t feel like your dentist has provided the right aftercare, particularly if this has led to other issues with your teeth or your general well-being, then you may be able to claim compensation. If you’re unsure about whether your incident is relevant, request a callback with Dental Law and we’ll be able to advise accordingly.

Tooth decay (dental caries) is one of the most common problems to occur within both deciduous teeth and permanent teeth, with treatment carried out regularly. Fillings are commonly used and tooth decay is often caused by plaque, which is a sticky film of bacteria that forms on your teeth – brushing and cleaning your teeth regularly should remove plaque – if these techniques aren’t used, then plaque will eventually lead to tooth decay.

Eating and drinking substances high in sugar will elevate plaque and tooth decay, leading to the cavity descending through the enamel to the dental pulp. It then progresses to the nerves and can cause an abscess and pulp necrosis. Popular treatments include fillings, extraction and root canal treatment (endodontic treatment) – whilst these treatments are usually successful, dental injury can occur. Check out the specific pages for these treatments on our website to find out more about dental negligence claims regarding them.

If tooth decay isn’t diagnosed correctly by your dentist then you may also be eligible to claim for dental negligence – more information can be found on our tooth decay page.

There are several different types of fillings used when your teeth have become damaged or they have decayed – normally the procedure is completed with either silver amalgam or white fillings, which are rarer. If you’re having your treatment completed through the NHS, you’ll likely have silver amalgam fillings (unless the filling is being fitted to deciduous teeth), as white fillings are usually only available when paying for a private dentist.

The process for fitting white fillings is slightly different. The removal process and cleaning process are the same, however to make the filling white (and thus more natural looking), several layers have to be placed within the tooth, which are then hardened using a special light to create the natural white colour of your tooth. You may need to have root canal treatment if white fillings are not fitted properly, but other issues can also occur.

For more information on white fillings, head to our fillings page.

Fillings fill the area of a tooth that has become damaged or decayed, once the decayed area has been removed. This area has to be filled to protect the rest of the injured tooth and stave off infection, to stop more damage occurring in the future. For most fillings, silver amalgam (containing a mixture of metals) will be used, unless you pay privately for a white filling.

Both the removal and filling process are completed at the same appointment and the area must be cleaned out before putting the filling in, to prevent infection from occurring. As fillings are a fairly standard procedure, it’s rare that anything goes wrong. If they do, you may have a valid claim of dental negligence. For example, if fillings are not fitted properly, you may need to have root canal treatment in the future. Pulp necrosis could also occur if cavities aren’t filled.

Your tooth may feel slightly sensitive at first after a filling, but if this doesn’t go away, then it may be a sign of a problem. If the area wasn’t cleaned properly, then an infection could occur – in this situation you may be able to apply for a claim. Fillings can also fall out, which is usually because they have been fitted poorly – for more information, head to our dedicated cavity fillings page.