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Dental negligence examples at The Tooth Club

The most common forms of dental negligence we see at The Tooth Club are Cosmetic dentistry, which results in a poor result or problems afterwards for a patient. These procedures include:

• Invisalign
• Composite bonding
• White composite fillings
• Veneers
• Crowns
• Implants

When cosmetic dental treatment goes wrong, it leaves patients in considerable discomfort/pain and is psychologically damaging as they then face further distressing procedures to correct the initial treatment.

Cosmetic dentistry gone wrong

 Some examples of cosmetic dental treatment claims at The Tooth Club, which we have seen:

• Poorly fitted veneers that fall off repeatedly
• Composite bonding that is too bulky. This causes an unintended poor appearance and speech problems.
• Composite bonding that is difficult to clean, causing bleeding gums or recession.
• Ill-fitting crowns that are uncomfortable and cause food to be trapped underneath.
• Crowns that cause sensitivity and have a poor appearance
• A bridge to replace a tooth, but then keeps falling out
• Dental implants have not worked due to poor planning.

Cosmetic treatments take considerable cost and time to put right again so you should seek help from an expert who can help you secure compensation and the funds for further dental treatment.

Here are 2 cases that are typical of the many which have been brought to our attention and which resulted in Compensation for the patients.

CASE ONE: Loss of teeth following substandard dental work

This patient suffered from losing several teeth as a result of a delay in the diagnosis of her decay. Some of her other teeth now required root canal treatment with crowns.

 She visited her dentist twice a year for a standard examination and was mostly told that everything was fine. Whenever she did have a problem, she was “patched up” with fillings or given antibiotics.

She was at no point made aware of having several teeth requiring treatment and had not had regular X-rays.

Our approach

She called us, and our dental expert confirmed that there was a failure to detect and treat the cavities and that if her dentist had done so, she would not have lost her teeth. 

The outcome

The dentist contacted his insurance, and they initially defended the claim. The dentist’s insurance replied, and a compensation offer of £2,000 was put on the table.

 We advised her to reject this amount. Following negotiation, a further offer of £19,000 was made, which the patient accepted.

The Case In More Detail

The patient had been going regularly to The Tooth Club for over 5 years. At every 6-month interval, she was told that everything was fine, but regular X-rays were not taken. She started to experience teeth breaking off and sensitivity. When she had these treated, we saw that not all the decay had been removed. Eventually, some of these teeth had such extensive decay that extractions were the only option. Other teeth now require root canal treatment as the only option left.

Following our advice, steps were taken to seek independent evidence from an expert. That expert found that there were many opportunities where early decay should have been identified and treated. In other instances when treatment was carried out, not all the decay was cleaned out, which caused further damage to the patient’s teeth. The dentist’s insurers eventually admitted liability, and an offer of £19,000 was made to settle the case.

CASE TWO: Unsatisfactory Invisalign treatment

This 37-year-old patient suffered from low confidence due to her unattractive smile. She was advised by The Tooth Club to have Invisalign treatment to straighten her teeth. After 14 months of treatment, she was left with unsightly gaps around the gum line, sensitivity to hot/cold due to gum recession, and her bite was not right. The Tooth Club was willing to give her money back, but then she sought our advice.

Our Advice

She called us, and our dental expert confirmed that the Invisalign treatment was not the best treatment in terms of correcting her smile. She should have been made aware from the outset, and other options could have been advised.

The Outcome

The dentist contacted his insurance, and they initially defended the claim. The dentist’s insurers replied, and a compensation offer of £2,000 was made to our client.

 We advised her to reject this amount. Following negotiation, a further offer of £11,000 was made, which the patient accepted.

The Case In More Detail

This 37-year-old patient booked a smile assessment with The Tooth Club.

Following an examination, a course of Invisalign aligners was fitted, and the treatment took 14 months.

During this time, they did not carry out a detailed analysis of her bite, and she was not advised that gum recession could also occur with the realignment of her teeth.

After 14 months, she was told that her treatment was now complete, but when she pointed out to The Tooth Club that she was unhappy, the practice manager seemed uninterested. Eventually, after writing emails and making numerous calls to the practice, they offered to give her money back as long as she would not then go to a solicitor. She was pressurised into signing a disclaimer, which she rejected. Instead, she then sought our advice. We had her examined by an independent expert who pointed out several areas where the dentist had been negligent.

The dentist’s insurers eventually admitted liability, and an offer of £11,000 was made to settle the case.