Woman gets £20k after dentist failed to spot tooth decay
Over a year of treatment to sort problems
ACARE home manager has been awarded £20,000 after her dentist failed to spot her tooth decay for a number of years.
Jayne Brooks was awarded the large sum of money from her former dentist, MyDentist in Oswaldtwistle, through the assistance of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership.
Jayne’s dentist failed to diagnose and treat her tooth decay, as well as failing to spot the presence of an infection before she was provided with crowns and veneer treatment.
The 61-year-old visited Dr Stephen Desmond at MyDentist in Oswaldtwistle for nearly a decade, but had always feared going to see the dentist.
She said: “I visited every six months because I didn’t want to ever need to have too much work done in one visit.
“I remember telling Dr Desmond I had a bit of
pain in the back of my teeth but he would just dismiss me without an X-ray or further consideration and say there’s nothing wrong.”
In March 2017, the care home manager visited the dental practice as her crown had become discoloured and she wanted veneers.
She added: “I had an X-ray and Dr Desmond said I could have veneers done for £6,000 so I underwent the treatment.
“I moved jobs and as such moved to a new dentist.
“An initial check-up revealed a number of issues with my teeth and gums, including two abscesses which were exuding pus.
“I was X-rayed and told to ring back in a couple of days.
“The assistant gave a long list of issues and said it would cost £5,000 to sort out my veneers, root canal and bridge alone.”
Jayne, from Heywood, said a scan had uncovered her abscesses, which had eaten away at the bone under her nose.
She said: “I thought this was the end of the world. I was told the veneers Dr Stephen had placed had to come out, despite me having them for less than two years.
“I was also told I should have been X-rayed before having them fitted.
“This corrective treatment went on throughout Covid-19 and lasted over a year with multiple visits needed nearly every month.”
After complaining to the practice, Jayne was told it was nothing to do with them and was told she’d need extra work.
“My new dentist told me I will need further tooth extractions, implants, crowns and bridge work, and that I’ll have to have new crowns and veneers fitted - which will cost much more,” Jayne said.
“Learning this, I contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2019.”
The initial work on Jayne’s teeth has been completed, but the care home man a g e r still has ongoing crown work due to take place.
She explains that if her bone grows back in time, she may be able to have implants.
However, she has no bone in the front of her mouth currently and very little gum, therefore
she lives in “constant fear” of her bridge dropping down.
Analysis of her dental records shows that if Dr Desmond had properly assessed and treated Jayne in a timely manner, then she would have avoided the development of tooth decay.
She also would have avoided the need for root canal treatment and the loss of multiple teeth and would have been advised that veneers were unsuitable, due to the evidence of infection.
Jennifer Paine, of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.
“If the dentist had carried out appropriate consultation and adequate treatment in the first place, many of the problems could have been avoided.”
This case was taken on by the Dental Law Partnership in 2019.
It was then settled in February 2023, with the dentist paying £20,000 in an out of court settlement, but the dentist involved did not admit liability.
A spokesperson for MyDentist said: “We would like to apologise for the experience Mrs Brooks has had.
“Providing the highest quality dental care to our patients is our first priority and we’re disappointed that on this rare occasion it fell below our expectations.
“I can confirm that Dr Desmond no longer provides dental treatment at our practice.”
“The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.”