WOMAN LOSES TOOTH THANKS TO LOCAL DENTIST’S BOTCHED ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

• 37-year-old Miss Jennifer Mace from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, loses tooth after local dentist botches root canal treatment
• Miss Mace suffered from excruciating pain
• £7,500 received in compensation

Jennifer Mace, a 37-year-old sales assistant from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has won £7,500 in compensation from her local dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership. The dentist’s failure to perform adequate root canal treatment caused Miss Mace severe pain and sensitivity, and led to the eventual loss of the tooth.

Between 2012 and 2016 Miss Mace visited Dr Paul Moore at Shirebrook Dental Care in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. For years she believed she was in good hands but unfortunately this turned out to not be the case.

“Initially I never had any concerns about Dr Moore,” Miss Mace recalls. “I had a broken tooth in 2012 but he placed a filling, which seemed to solve the problem. I continued to see him for regular check-ups and had no issues.”

But Miss Mace’s dental problems began in January 2015 when the tooth Dr Moore had previously filled broke again. Miss Mace saw Dr Moore, but he provided no initial treatment despite her informing him of the pain she was experiencing. However, the pain got worse and worse, and nine months later, Miss Mace was back with Dr Moore. This time he performed root canal treatment.

“I did start to become concerned,” Miss Mace said. “For three years I’d thought my tooth had been fixed, but suddenly it broke and became extremely painful. But when Dr Moore said he’d undertake root canal treatment I finally thought that would be the end of it.”

Root canal treatment was undertaken in November 2015, and completed with a filling the following month. But Miss Mace was back with Dr Moore once again in January 2016 – her tooth had fractured for a third time, and she was still suffering from severe toothache. But shockingly Dr Moore told Miss Mace that she couldn’t possibly be experiencing pain in the tooth because the root had been filled.

“I was utterly shocked,” Miss Mace said. “Partly because my tooth had fractured for a third time, but mainly because it seemed Dr Moore didn’t believe I was in pain. He just smoothed my broken tooth down and sent me on my way. He didn’t seem to care about me as a patient. I lost faith in him.”

Feeling let down and still in pain, Miss Mace saw a new dentist in March 2016. The dentist immediately discovered that the root of her tooth had been perforated. The new dentist also said the tooth now needed to be extracted.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Miss Mace explained. “I’d gone back and forth to Dr Moore for months, but he did nothing. All the pain I’d been through was unnecessary and if I’d changed dentists sooner my tooth could been treated earlier.”

Miss Mace contacted the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of her dental records revealed that Dr Moore had failed to us reasonable skill and care when he undertook root canal treatment. In 2015, when Dr Moore said Miss Mace couldn’t be experiencing pain because the tooth had been filled, X-rays taken at the time showed the tooth had characteristics of infection.      Because of Dr Moore’s poor treatment Miss Mace has unnecessarily lost a tooth and will require a dental implant.

“The whole ordeal still really frustrates me,” Miss Mace said. “At one point, my tooth was so sensitive I could barely eat or drink anything cold. Something had clearly been wrong with it for a long time but Dr Moore did nothing. If it wasn’t for him I’d still have my tooth and wouldn’t need a dental implant for the rest of my life.”

Christine Salter of The Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist had provided adequate treatment in the first place the suffering our client experienced could have been avoided. We hope the compensation received goes some way towards paying for the corrective treatment required.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Miss Mace’s case in April 2016. The case was successfully settled in May 2017 when the dentist paid £7,500 in an out of court settlement. The dentist did not admit liability.