- 20-year-old Ms DB suffered a burst abscess, and two hospital admissions, including an operation, after her dental practice failed to treat her correctly when she was a teenager.
- Further investigation by the Dental Law Partnership revealed various dentists failed to diagnose and treat decay, leading to the loss of her tooth, which could have been avoided.
- £26,000 awarded in compensation for the poor treatment, which has left her with facial swelling and scarring and a gap in her mouth, causing dental anxiety.
Ms DB, a 20 year old student from Keighley, West Yorkshire, has been awarded £26,000 by her former dental practice, with the help of Dental Law Partnership. The payment was awarded after various dentists at the practice failed to diagnose decay and the need for a root canal, leading to repeat infections, a burst abscess, facial swelling and scarring, and emergency hospital admission for days with an operation. This led to her losing a tooth when she was under 18, and possible future loss of teeth.
Ms DB was a patient of MyDentist, 165-167 Skipton Road, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD21 3BG, which is owned and operateDBy Petrie Tucker and Partners Limited, between 2012 and 2016 when she was aged 7 to 11 years old. “I’d had a difficult time with my teeth, the dentists at the practice always seemed to be observing something in my mouth, or working on a few painful ones – it just felt like there was always a new problem,” Ms DB recalled.
However, in the months that followed in August 2021, things started developing more seriously. “When one of my teeth cracked, the dentist just placed a sealant, but I began feeling severe aches in my jaw. They simply tried to just re-fill the area,” Ms DB said. “However, several weeks later, I ended up back at the practice, having woken up with a swollen jaw and more mouth pain. I was diagnosed with a potential infected abscess, given antibiotics and told to seek help from A&E if it worsened. I was frightened to hear that,” Ms DB added. “It became very clear to us that the practice had not taken proper care of my teeth where the crack, and what I later found out was decay, had formed.”
“In the end, I had to go visit the first of two hospitals, which was incredibly scary. Upon arrival, the X-rays uncovered a large, worsening abscess. The doctors said if I hadn’t turned up sooner, it was at risk of turning septic,” Ms DB explained. “I was incredibly anxious hearing this, especially when I was then told that I needed transferring to a second hospital for treatment.”.
“After arriving at the second hospital, the abscess eventually burst and required draining. They then had to immediately remove my tooth in an operation under general anaesthetic,” Ms DB said. “I was on a ward for four days before my eventual discharge, having been left to deal with severe pain and continued infection. I was afraid that this may happen again, or that I’d lose more teeth. While I was in hospital I had to miss college which affected my studies, and my mum had to take time off work to stay with me, meaning her income was impacted too.”
Frustrated with the experiences she had gone through, Ms DB contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021. Further analysis of her records revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Ms DB received from the practice. They failed to diagnose and treat decay for years. The progression of the decay resulted in the infected abscess, emergency hospital admission, the need for an operation and tooth removal, all of which could have been avoided.
At The Dental Law Partnership, we consider that the distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentists involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, her problems could have been avoided.
The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms DB case in 2021. The case was successfully settled in January 2025 when Ms DB was paid £26,000 in an out of court settlement. Petrie Tucker and Partners Limited did not admit liability.
If you believe you have been a victim of negligent medical treatment, you should contact us today to assess your claim. Alternatively, find out just how much compensation you could be owed with our compensation calculator.