Dentist pays £ 9,000 to boy who lost most of his teeth
A BOY who had nearly all his milk teeth removed because of severe decay has received a £ 9,000 settlement from a dentist who allegedly should have treated his chronic problem sooner.
Cameron Jackson, five, had 13 rotting teeth removed when he was three, leaving him to struggle with just seven teeth until his adult set grow through fully when he is about nine.
He was taken for repeated dental check- ups as his pain increased but was allegedly constantly told his teeth just needed more brushing.
Now, following the mass extraction, he has received the payout after it was alleged dentist Dr Raymond Matloa should have acted sooner to combat the severe decay, which began when Cameron was 18 months old.
After the removal in December 2010, Cameron’s parents Wendy and Gareth sued Dr Matloa, of Fountain dental practice in Morley, Leeds.
Dr Matloa has not admitted liability for the loss of Cameron’s teeth.
But he agreed an out- of- court settlement on the basis that treatment could have begun sooner.
Cameron will receive the money on his 18th birthday.
Last night Wendy, 31, from Bradford, said she had grown increasingly concerned about Cameron’s teeth – especially as her other children Morgan, 10, and MacKenzie, two, have not even had a filling. She said: “I first realised that something was wrong when Cameron was unable to eat solid food at about 18 months.
“His teeth were yellow, not white like milk teeth should be.
“The dentist advised us to brush them more but when we did his teeth literally crumbled.
“Cameron would scream and his gums would bleed like crazy.
“He woke up every night crying uncontrollably and told me his mouth hurt.”
Wendy dosed Cameron with painkillers nightly to try to ease his pain.
She said: “At first the dentist asked if he was eating too many sweets.
“But I knew that wasn’t right because Cameron never touched any solid food, never mind sweets.
“Then I was advised to change his bottle to a cup to ease pressure put on his gums.
“I don’t know what changed but in December two years ago, when Cameron was three years old, the dentist referred him to the Leeds dental institute where they extracted the 13 teeth.
“Now Cameron has been left with no teeth on the top of his mouth – and two years later he is still very embarrassed about it.”
Wendy and car trader Gareth, 29, decided to sue after allegedly being told that something could have been done earlier to stop the decay.
Dr Matloa declined to comment yesterday.
Cameron Jackson, five, shows he has no top teeth