Call us free on 0800 0853 823 or request a callback (No obligation)
This type of dental negligence relates to instances when a dental professional fails to appropriately treat a condition that you, their patient, suffers from. There could be a few different errors made by your dentist that lead up to their failure to treat you effectively.
These include:
If your dentist fails to listen to you when you try to explain about a problem you’re having with your teeth or doesn’t seem to take your complaint about pain, sensitivity or other symptoms seriously, they could be overlooking an oral health condition. If, by failing to properly treat you, the condition becomes worse, causes pain and suffering or means that you need to have further treatment to rectify or mitigate the issue, you may be eligible to make a compensation claim.
While most dentists are highly skilled, dedicated and treat their patients with a high level of skill, care and professionalism, this is sadly not always the case. Sometimes, dentists can make avoidable mistakes, miss evidence, offer the wrong treatment, or otherwise fail in their duty of care to treat you effectively. Some of the most common conditions that dentists can fail to notice or treat appropriately, include:
The terms ‘failure to diagnose’ and ‘failure to treat’ can be related, but are separate types of dental negligence. If your dentist fails to diagnose you with a serious oral health condition, they are also likely to fail to treat you properly. However, sometimes dentists may correctly diagnose a problem, but then offer an ineffective or unsuitable treatment. In some cases, they may fail to offer any treatment at all, if they incorrectly determine that the condition is not serious or does not require action to stop the damage or remedy the issue. If this is the case, and the condition worsens as a result, causes you pain or requires further treatment to fix, you might be able to make a dental negligence compensation claim.
As with any type of clinical negligence claim, the amount of compensation that you may be due will depend on the circumstances of your specific case. Some of the factors include the type and severity of the condition or problem that your dentist failed to treat. The short and long-term implications of the failure to treat will also be taken into account, such as the potential costs of further treatment to rectify the issue(s) and the impact that your dentist’s negligence has had on your daily life. This may include psychological and emotional trauma as well as physical suffering and pain.
Each case is individual and the types of evidence needed for a successful claim will vary, depending on the specific circumstances. However, you will need some evidence that your dentist failed to properly treat an oral health or dental condition and you have suffered as a result. For example, there could be x-rays that show a condition that your dentist failed to treat you for over a period of time, which got worse and had further oral health implications. Whatever the circumstances of your treatment (or non-treatment), if it took place in England or Wales you can contact us for a free claim assessment and to discuss your options on 0808 252 5331.