Dentists sued over search for stars’ smiles
A RECORD number of dentists are being sued for botched treatment, figures reveal.
Much of the legal action stems from people wanting “perfect white teeth” like the stars oftv shows such asthe Onlyway Is Essex and Love Island, experts claim.
Figures from a dentists’ watchdog show there has been a massive rise in people taking legal action when they are unhappy with the work on their teeth, which can lead to six-figure payouts.
Many of the cases relate to cosmetic treatments such as veneers and implants.
Experts say much of the problem is fuelled by dentists moving away from being clinicians caring for a patient’s health towards a more cosmetic and beauty-based business.
The Dental Law Partnership, which specialises in dental negligence, has seen a 10 per cent year-on-year rise in casework and deals with more than half of all litigation cases taken against dentists.the firm’s joint managing director Chris Dean, a trained dentist and solicitor, said: “People watch shows liketowie and Love Island and think they have to have perfect white teeth, and that’s not natural.the only way you can get it is to have cosmetic dental work done.
“Our clients are often unhappy with the results because that perfect smile can disappear the first time they bite into something. “A big problem is that people are not aware of what the range of possible treatments is and they might be steered towards more expensive, but potentially more problematic treatments.
“The issue is that once a drill is brought to a tooth there is no going back and what is done is not reversible.
“The rise in the number of complaints is caused by a number of factors which include people being much more aware they are consumers rather than being patients.
“Just like any other consumer who is not happy, if their dental treatment does not meet their expectations, they will sue for compensation.
“But much of this has been pushed by some dentists who now seem to focus on cosmetic treatments rather than focusing on purely clinical care.
“We have seen a significant increase in complaints landing on our desks from people unhappy with their dental treatment.”
Patients are increasingly likely to sue if their dreams of a Hollywood smile evaporate into months of costly and painful treatment, experts said.
Industry insiders say dentists can earn as much as £500 per tooth on a veneer treatment and £1,000 per tooth on an implant.
The Dental Complaints Service said that last year they had a record number of people contact them.
In total, there were 3,158 inquiries to the DCS in 2019, a rise of 60 per cent in just four years.
The watchdog revealed that despite offering an arbitration service a record number decided to sue privately, with the figure increasing from 27 to 519 in the same four-year time span.