Ms Alisha Khan, a 20-year-old law student from Manchester, has been awarded £22,000 from two former dentists with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership after two wrong teeth were extracted and severe decay was left untreated, resulting in the loss of a third tooth, all before she turned 16-years-old.
Ms Khan had been treated at the dental practice located at 15-17 Railway Road, Blackburn by Dr Shabana Shah and Dr Maria Dafni Samara for a number of her childhood years. In early 2015, just before her 12th birthday, Ms Khan was referred for orthodontic treatment to close gaps in her mouth. The orthodontic examinations began at another practice in late 2016, but it wasn’t until August 2018 that a plan was put in place by the orthodontist, which required the extraction of four teeth.
“Between being referred for the extractions and having them done, I started suffering from tooth pain which prevented me from sleeping and affected my ability to eat, where it was revealed I had severe decay in one of my teeth,” Ms Khan recalled. “In late 2018, I attended multiple appointments with Dr Shah at MyDentist for tooth extractions. The first two extractions happened, then a few days later the pain in the tooth where there was decay got even worse and had to be extracted. After that, I had a final appointment to have the last two teeth extracted.”
It wasn’t until a few weeks later when Ms Khan attended her next orthodontist appointment that it was revealed that two of the wrong teeth had been extracted at two separate appointments, meaning the following orthodontic work would be a lot more complicated. Not only had the wrong teeth come out, but one of the tooth roots had been left in Ms Khan’s mouth, which may require a general anaesthetic procedure for it to be removed in future.
“I remember being in the car with my auntie after an extraction appointment, looking in the mirror and being surprised at the gaps in my mouth, as they were further forward than I expected. I was only 15 at the time and my auntie reassured me that the dentists were the professionals and they couldn’t have taken the wrong teeth out,” Ms Khan recounted. “When the truth came out that two of the wrong teeth had been removed, I was so upset.”
“The orthodontists then had to work with the teeth I had remaining in my mouth, and even now I’m 20-years-old I’m still regularly attending appointments for orthodontic treatment and the gaps in my teeth haven’t been fully corrected,” Ms Khan explained. “The whole process has been so long and disheartening. Covid caused further delays as I was meant to be going for a procedure to have the leftover root removed, which caused even more anxiety as I’ve never had a general anaesthetic before, and spent all of the lockdown period worrying about when it might happen. Throughout the process there have been so many unknowns, and the pain from the tooth that was left to decay used to keep me up at night which made my life as a 15-year-old even harder too.”
Feeling that what she had experienced wasn’t right, Ms Khan contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021. Further analysis of her records revealed the significant extent of the remedial work she will require. Had the correct teeth been extracted, and the decay been diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage, Ms Khan’s orthodontic work could have been completed within 18-24 months and no unnecessary teeth would have been lost. Instead, Ms Khan faces years of expensive dental treatment for the rest of her adult life.
Stephanie Neden-King of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced at such a young age was completely unnecessary. If the dentists involved had provided more satisfactory treatment and not extracted teeth in error, her problems, which will be prevalent for her entire adult life, could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms Khan’s case in 2021. The case was successfully settled in March 2023 when Ms Khan was paid £22,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentists involved did not admit liability. Any patients who believe they may have received negligent dental care should visit dentallaw.co.uk.