£13,000 secured for series of negligent failings in dental treatment.

Our client, Nigel, originally contacted us about what he felt was a substandard tooth extraction, which had caused ongoing problems with a hole in his teeth (a sinus). Upon further investigation, it was found that it would not be possible to prove this case, but instead we discovered that there had been a series of negligent failings over the course of more than 15 years.

This negligent (and sometimes seemingly unnecessary) dental care had meant that Nigel’s teeth had undergone significant decay, requiring the extraction and replacement of many teeth as well as ongoing and unexpected dental treatment.

Nigel had been complaining of problems with his molars since 1999, however dental caries (a damaged area of tooth due to decay) in the upper right of his mouth were not spotted and this led to ongoing decay which eventually required root canal treatment.

Similarly, treatments which occurred such as root canals and crown fittings were carried out in a substandard manner, and subsequent damage to the top of Nigel’s teeth was not treated effectively. The root canals that were performed, in 2006 and over nine years later in 2015, were found by our experts to have fallen far below the standard expected of a reasonably competent practitioner.

The second root canal was done in order to treat Nigel’s suspected sinus. However, from the radiographs provided to us as part of the case, our experts couldn’t see any evidence that a root canal was needed in this case – therefore they potentially underwent negligent treatment unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, x-rays were not undertaken regularly either, which could have helped to identify the significant damage to Nigel’s teeth which was identified by our dental experts.

As a result of the dental negligence, Nigel has had to have two teeth removed and replaced. The implant and crowns replacing their teeth will need to be replaced themselves every 15 years, for life. Another of his teeth requires similar regular treatment after it had to undergo a further root canal procedure.

Therefore, for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity they suffered, as well as for the costs he incurred in the course of all the treatment he received and will need in the future, the defendant dentist agreed to settle the case for £13,000.

Following the settlement, Nigel said:

“The journey we started some time ago has been a roller coaster of emotions for me but thankfully you have been on the same ride.”