Mr Mark Shire, a 58-year-old cleaner from Marlborough, Wiltshire, has been awarded £8,400 by his former dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership. The payment was awarded after poor extraction of two teeth left a tooth fragment in his sinuses for over two years, which caused chronic, severe sinusitis that significantly disrupted his day-to-day life and ultimately required surgery to remove.
Mr Shire was a patient of at Kerry Crescent Dental, 2 Kerry Crescent, Calne, Wiltshire where he attended in January 2020 as he had pain in his mouth. “My dentist removed two teeth on the upper left side to alleviate the tooth pain, but during these procedures I knew things weren’t going right as she had a real hard job getting the teeth out,” Mr Shire recalled. “I was in so much pain after the extractions and was advised that the site wasn’t healing well. A year later, I returned in pain and she just prescribed me antibiotics and cleaned out the tooth socket.”
“In the two years after the extractions, I started experiencing sinus issues, such as terrible headaches, a blocked nose, and a bad taste in my mouth. In January 2022, I visited a medical practice for the sinus pain and congestion as I didn’t ever think it’d be related to my teeth. They gave me antibiotics and nasal sprays but the problems continued,” Mr Shire explained. “I was then seen by a specialist in the ear, nose, and throat department and despite multiple courses of antibiotics, I was experiencing foul-smelling thick green mucus coming out of the left side of my nose and in my throat, facial pain on the left side and left sided headaches.”
“In June 2022 I was referred to the hospital where they did a CT scan and diagnosed me with left sided sinusitis that was caused by a piece of tooth pushed into my sinus from the tooth extraction,” Mr Shire recalled. “I went back to visit in November 2022 to tell her what had happened as a result of her treatment. I had an x-ray taken but she didn’t apologise to me.”
“In May 2023 I had surgery under general anaesthetic where they removed the tooth fragment left in my sinus and I had to take two weeks off work to recover. After that, my sinus issues cleared and healed,” Mr Shire said.
Frustrated with the experiences he had gone through, Mr Shire contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2023. Further analysis revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Mr Shire received during the tooth extractions, which led to a tooth fragment fracturing away and being pushed into the sinus, with no attempt to locate or remove it, or refer him to get it remedied. This resulted in a tooth fragment in his sinus for over two years leading to chronic, severe sinusitis and sinus surgery under general anaesthetic to remove the fragment, all of which could have been avoided.
“The sinusitis made me feel like I had a permanent cold. The blocked nose made it hard to breathe, and I always had a horrible taste in my mouth from the pus that was draining. I often struggled to sleep and couldn’t go to work sometimes because the headaches were so bad,” Mr Shire explained. “The whole experience was very scary. I’m so lucky it was eventually caught, and I just never thought it would all be because of a dental extraction.”
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, his problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Shire’s case in 2023. The case was successfully settled in April 2024 when Mr Shire was paid £8,400 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 The Dental Law Partnership.