£8,000 secured for Chris after decades of dental neglect.

After her regular dentist retired and she suffered painful treatment at the hands of their replacement, Chris contacted us. That’s when she discovered she’d been subject to decades of negligent treatment since her early twenties.

Chris had regularly attended the same local dentist since she was 21, and up until their retirement had been happy with the treatment she received. When her first dentist retired though, Chris found she was not happy with her treatment and so she visited another dentist at a different dental practice for a second opinion in September 2020 where she discovered her diagnosis and the extent of her injuries.

Chris was diagnosed with periodontal disease (gum disease) and extensive (50%) bone loss was identified in the upper left quadrant of her mouth. As a result, numerous teeth were lost, she was advised that she would need restorations in several teeth, she suffered from intermittent pain and swelling, suffered difficulty eating and all of this impacted her socially and psychologically.

Once Chris had discovered that her teeth had not been looked after, she explored whether she could pursue a potential claim in dental negligence and contacted our dental negligence team at RWK Goodman solicitors.

When Chris first approached our team, she had concerns about the two dentists who had treated her subsequently to her first dentist who had since retired. Chris recalled how she had always felt the subsequent two dentists did not do an adequate job because she always experienced issues with her gums in that they were always sensitive and she was never told why.

Upon obtaining and reviewing Chris’s dental records, we identified three defendants were potentially to blame for substandard treatment, despite Chris initially contacting us concerned about the poor treatment she had received from her second and third dentists. Therefore, it was necessary to explore each dentist in turn and narrow down the allegations against them spanning the duration of Chris’s time at the dental practice. Chris was surprised to learn that it was possible to sue a retired dentist.

The negligent treatment was made all the worse for Chris as she had entered into a Denplan payment plan in April 1990 whereby all dentists treating her at the practice were obliged to provide her with examinations, dental x-rays, preventative dental care, necessary restorations, periodontal treatment, root canal treatment, crowns and bridges.

Chris continued to pay subscriptions to Denplan until February 2020. Understandably, Chris considered this was a waste of money, in her particular circumstances, because it later transpired that her teeth had not been looked after and she would need extensive restorative treatment to correct years of poor dentistry. Chris always attended the dental practice regularly and was someone who wanted to look after her teeth and do what was necessary to ensure they were healthy.

The Dental Negligence team at RWK Goodman, in particular Samantha Swaby and Stephanie Cockburn, achieved compensation for Chris in the sum of £8,000.00 which has fully paid for her restorative treatment with some money left over! We are thrilled that she has been able to restore her smile!