Ms Elizabeth Qashou, a 64-year-old executive PA from Prestwich, Manchester, has been awarded £10,000 from a former dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership after dental errors dating as far back as 2007 led to years of discomfort and anxiety after her severe periodontal disease went untreated.
Ms Qashou was a long-term patient of Dr Vera Marques at My Dentist Stevenson Square, Manchester, for many years. “Despite being a nervous dental patient, I always made an effort to attend regular appointments at the dentist and hygienist and tried to look after my teeth,” Ms Qashou explained. “Over the years I had a number of treatments with Dr Marques, including crowns, root canal and two extractions. I trusted her and felt at ease.”
However, despite years of regular appointments and treatments, in August 2020 after attending the practice due to pain in a tooth, Ms Qashou was surprised to be told by Dr Marques that she had significant bone loss, which was a symptom of advanced periodontal disease. “It was extremely upsetting and a big shock to find out about my periodontal disease at such a late stage – especially as I had swapped to paying privately for my dental treatment.”
“After the bone loss came to light, I changed to a new practice and was also diagnosed with decay at a number of teeth that would likely require extraction, as well as being told I needed replacement fillings and a replacement crown,” Ms Qashou recalled.
Frustrated with the experiences she had gone through, Ms Qashou contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2019. Further analysis revealed numerous errors dating as far back as 2007, including periodontal disease being left to progress untreated, which had led to the tooth extractions and could have been avoided. Furthermore, poor crown fittings and fillings had led decay to progress, resulting in further extractions in the future.
“This whole experience and all the extra restorative dental work that has been required as a result of the dental errors has had a huge impact on my anxiety levels and really disrupted my day-to-day life. The thought that I will lose more teeth is really depressing, and it has really affected my trust in people. I’d always felt confident with Dr Marques and I find it so hard to believe that dentists are being allowed to practice if they can’t do the dental work properly.”
Tim Armitage 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, her problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms Qashou’s case in 2019. The case was successfully settled in July 2023 when Ms Qashou 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.