Ms C from the East of England has lost one tooth and will lose another due to her dentist’s poor treatment. With the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership she was awarded £8,000 in compensation.
- A woman from the east of England suffered an avoidable period of pain and suffering as a result of infection and suffered an avoidable repeat root canal treatment.
- Ms C lost a tooth and will lose another tooth in the future.
- £8,000 awarded in compensation
Between 2011 to 2013 Ms C received below standard treatment by her dentist Dr H, when she endured avoidable prolonged periods of pain and suffering as a result of an infection. She also had to undergo repeat root canal treatment.
In September 2011 our client attended her dental practice for an examination and two x-rays were taken by her dentist Dr H.
She began experiencing pain in her jaw and so made another appointment in October, another X-ray was taken and her dentist advised her tooth would need a filling to help with the pain and sensitivity.
Ms C went back to her dentist three more times to treat her tooth which ultimately required root canal treatment.
“I was a little nervous to receive the root canal treatment but my dentist advised it was a common procedure and so I trusted he would take care of me” said Ms C.
The root canal procedure was completed 9 days later.
“After the procedure I felt some pain and discomfort but I assumed this would be normal and it would settle.”
Our client returned to her dentists in November due to another tooth which had fractured, this tooth was given a filling.
“Unfortunately I was advised by my dentist that this other tooth would also require a root canal treatment and so the treatment commenced in early December”
However after this treatment Ms C was still experiencing pain and discomfort in booth sides of her jaw where both teeth had been treated.
Our client returned to the dentist in January and antibiotics were prescribed to her.
“I was in so much pain, I was desperate for the antibiotics to work, I had also started taken pain killers to help, and it was really painful to brush my teeth too”
Ms C continued to return to her dentist and was also told she would require repeat root canal treatment.
Before that treatment our client had attended more appointments and was advised she would need crowns at both her teeth.
The crowns were fitted in May 2012 and with the repeat root canal treatment completed, Ms C finally thought her ordeal was over.
However Ms C’s pain continued and she returned to the dentist five more times for treatment until one of her teeth had to be extracted due to a severe infection.
“In hindsight it was ridiculous, after all the treatment and pain I had endured I ended up losing my tooth!”
However that was not the end of Ms C’s ordeal.
Her fractured tooth required ongoing treatment and she continued this at another practice.
Ms C was advised she would eventually lose her other tooth even after all the treatment she had endured.
Ms C discovered her dentist Dr H had failed to perform the root canal treatments correctly and safely by not using a rubber dam to prevent infection from spreading. He had failed to disclose other treatment options to Ms C which would have prevented the root canal treatment in the first place.
“The infection had been left to spread and went untreated which caused me so much pain, anxiety and stress and I feel very let down and upset by Mr H’s treatment.”
Ms C decided to contact the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of her dental records revealed that Ms C’s dentist had failed to use reasonable skill and care during the root canal treatments. This led to a severe infection and eventually led to the extraction of her tooth and the future loss of her other tooth.
Stephanie Neden- King of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, all her problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms C’s case in 2017. The case was successfully settled in 2020 when the dentist paid £8,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist did not admit liability.