• 48-year-old Julie Bate from Coventry, West Midlands, lost a tooth and suffered from severe pain and infection after her local dentist failed to perform adequate root canal treatment
• Mrs Bate attended numerous appointments for the root canal treatment and had to leave her job after missing work too much to see the dentist
• £6,250 received in compensation
Unhappy with her previous dentist, Mrs Bate’s husband recommend she see someone at MyDentist Kingston Road in Coventry.
“I wasn’t happy at my old practice,” Mrs Bate said. “I’d been told by one dentist that I needed a filling or even a root canal on my tooth but then when I went back another dentist at the practice told me that I didn’t need any treatment at all. I wanted a second opinion so I began seeing the dentist in the hope that they could fix whatever was wrong with my tooth.”
Mrs Bate complained of a sharp pain to the dentist at her first appointment and, upon examination, was advised that root canal treatment was required. In April 2016, the dentist commenced root canal treatment but Mrs Bate had to return for a second appointment for the dentist to complete the procedure.
“I was getting really nervous,” Mrs Bate stated. “It made me wonder if I was really in safe hands with this new dentist.”
Unfortunately for Mrs Bate, following treatment, she began experiencing pain and swelling on the side of her mouth. She went to see the dentist who prescribed antibiotics however Mrs Bate was back at the dentist just a few months later when the sharp pain had returned.
“I thought that it was finally over but clearly I was wrong,” Mrs Bate commented.
Mrs Bate returned to see the dentist in October 2016 and had to have the tooth extracted but sadly her problems did not end there. Mrs Bate continued to suffer from pain and infection post-extraction and had to be prescribed more antibiotics.
“The whole experience was just so draining,” Mrs Bate explained. “I suffered all of that pain. I was already devastated to have the tooth removed but to then get another infection after the extraction was just unbelievable.”
“I’m embarrassed to smile as the tooth is so close to the front of my mouth,” Mrs Bate said. “The back and forth to the dentist has cost me so much money and I even had to leave my job because I kept missing shifts to go to appointments. It was such an awful experience but I’m relieved that it’s finally over.”