Ms Gemma Wardley, a 36-year-old police sergeant from Swinton, Manchester, has been awarded £10,000 by her former dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership. The payment was awarded after she suffered constant pain as a result of multiple avoidable and inadequate root canal treatments for several years, after her dentist wrongly attributed her dental issues to sinus attacks, leading to a swollen face, bad anxiety, sleepless nights, and a hesitancy to smile after losing two teeth.
Ms Wardley first attended Swinton Practice Limited, Chorley Road, Swinton in Manchester in 2013 and was seen by Dr Joseph Michelow. “I was experiencing so much pain in the top left side of my mouth so Dr Michelow did a root canal on one of my teeth, but it didn’t alleviate the pain,” Ms Wardley recalled. “I returned a few months later as I was still suffering, so he did a root canal on the tooth next to it, but the pain still didn’t stop.”
“In 2015, he noticed the original root canal wasn’t rooted deep enough, which may have been causing the issues, so he re-did it without pain relief. It was so painful it made me shoot up off the chair, and I was in tears,” Ms Wardley explained. “He also did two further root canals in the upper and lower left side of my mouth, but none of this rid me of the pain.”
“Throughout this time, Dr Michelow insisted there actually weren’t any issues with my teeth, it was just sinusitis causing the toothaches. So, at various points he prescribed me with antihistamines and sinus washes at the hospital,” Ms Wardley recalled. “For years he was adamant on this but none of the sinus treatments helped, and I even saw a facial specialist who said there was nothing wrong with my sinuses. It was all so confusing and frustrating.”
“In 2018, the original tooth that had two root canals done on it cracked and had a hairline fracture because he hadn’t put a crown on it when he did the root canal,” Ms Wardley explained. “Even then he still said it was just advanced sinus issues causing inflammation and tooth pain. It was unbelievable.”
“After this, I went to another dental practice when I was experiencing throbbing pain and the whole left side of my face had swelled up which radiated across my forehead, cheeks and to my left eye socket. At the checkup this dentist exclaimed ‘what the hell has happened to your teeth’, as they were in such a bad state,” Ms Wardley recalled. “I was given antibiotics and for two years I couldn’t eat on the left-hand side of my mouth. I was referred to the hospital, where in 2022 they extracted two of the teeth. It was horrible, and I was in tears. The gap it left was awful, and I didn’t feel comfortable smiling anymore.”
Frustrated with the experiences she had gone through, Ms Wardley contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021. Further analysis revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Ms Wardley received from Dr Michelow, which resulted in eight years of persistent pain, futile sinus treatments, repeated inadequate root canal treatments on multiple teeth, a fractured tooth, and need for further treatment which could have been avoided.
“I was in constant pain for several years and, every time I flagged it, Dr Michelow dismissed me. I feel so angry as I went to him in trust and believed everything he told me, when actually the sinus advice was just completely futile,” Ms Wardley explained. “I’ve always looked after my teeth, they’ve always been my pride with people complimenting them, so this completely knocked my confidence. I already suffer from PTSD and anxiety, but it was exacerbated by this experience, and I had sleepless nights.”
Heather Owen of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, many of her problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms Wardley’s case in 2021. The case was successfully settled in December 2023 when Ms Wardley was paid £10,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist involved did not admit liability. Any patients who believe they may have received negligent dental care should visit dentallaw.co.uk.