Dental patient awarded £20,000 following years of negligent treatment resulting undiagnosed tooth decay

Amy Matthews, a regular dental attendee, will suffer losing multiple teeth following her dentist’s failure to diagnose tooth decay throughout her childhood.

A damages award of £20,000 has been settled but with no admission of liability.

Ms Matthews had visited Normanby Dental for thirteen years and had a variety of treatments over the years, but the tooth decay has never been diagnosed and left untreated resulting in progression of the decay and unsavable teeth.

Ms Matthews said: “It all started when my temporary filling fell out and I was in so much pain, ibuprofen was not helping. I went to an emergency dentist who gave me a temporary filling and antibiotics and said I would need a permanent filling and later root canal treatment.

“I spoke to my usual NHS dentist who said that due to Covid-19 they couldn’t do anything at that time. I called the emergency dentist again who said to take the temporary filling out to air it. This helped temporarily, however, due to the gaping hole in my infected tooth it then became very painful.

“During this period, the left side of my face became swollen and I was bedridden for a week and unable to sleep. I had a strict routine of taking painkillers and waking up hourly in agony as they wore off.”

Ms Matthews was given antibiotics and told she needed a root canal, however due to Covid-19 she had to do the first half of the treatment privately which cost £150 and then the second half on the NHS which was £60, not including the cost of the crown.

Ms Matthews contacted and obtained legal representation. In which it became highlighted the issues she was suffering with were as a result of treatment received from Normanby Dental.

“After thorough examination of my records they discovered that ten different teeth had been badly treated and the gradual deterioration of them was not picked up. It was also found that I should have been given treatment like fluoride toothpaste years before I eventually had it”.

When speaking about her teeth Ms Matthews stated, “I’m now left with the fact hanging over me that within ten to fifteen years the other teeth will need to come out”.

Further reading

Dental negligence claims – Oakwood Solicitors

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