A woman has been left with a permanently disfigured mouth after a dentist accidentally filled her mouth with bleach during a routine appointment.
Mum-of-two Claire Shorrock’s entire face ballooned up after a supposedly straightforward root canal treatment and she was rushed to hospital in “significant distress”.
After investigations, it was found that the dentist forgot to put a preventative guard in the 55-year-old’s mouth before starting the procedure which meant sodium hypochlorite, a type of bleach filled her mouth and went straight into her tissue.
Claire said:
“I still have nightmares about my hospital experience and feel extremely nervous about attending the dentist now.
“The whole experience has affected me so much.
“I can feel my altered lip every time I talk, my speech has changed and I am still dealing with multiple dental issues caused by these errors, including the gaps left in my mouth following the extractions which will require costly implants.
Claire, who works as a teaching assistant in Lancashire suffered “extreme pain and swelling” as a result. The incident occurred when Claire attended her practice in Preston, where she had been a patient for more than ten years.
“It was my long-term practice and I always made an effort to attend every six months,” Claire said.
She said she had received several routine treatments over the years, but these became more frequent in 2019 when she had an issue with a filling that fell out, which led to regular infections.
The next year, Claire was advised by the dentist that she needed a root canal to treat a tooth where decay had developed.
She attended the appointment in October 2020, which is when the “true dental nightmare” began.
“As soon as the dentist started drilling into my tooth, I was hit by an overwhelming bleach smell and started experiencing shooting pain in my face,” Claire said.
“It was absolutely unbearable and I couldn’t help screaming.
“The dentist thought I had gone into anaphylactic shock as my face started swelling so quickly, and I was sent to hospital in an ambulance.
“I was kept in overnight and I was unable to eat because the pain and swelling was so severe.”
Medics reportedly established she had suffered a “severe burn reaction” to the sodium hypochlorite solution the dentist had been using.
“The bleach had entered my tissue because the required preventative guards and checks had not been made,” she said.
“I had to go home the next day with my face still extremely swollen, which was the worst thing ever as my young children, one of whom is autistic, found my face terrifying and I was reduced to wearing a Covid mask at home to hide the swelling.”
The swelling eventually reduced and her infection cleared, but Claire says her lip has been permanently altered.
She has also lost several teeth and has been told she may lose several more in the future.
After taking legal action, she has since been awarded £14,500 in compensation.
Analysis by the Dental Law Partnership (DLP) alleged multiple dental errors had occurred under her two dentist’s care.
The firm claims that if Claire’s treatment had been better, the progression of her decay could have been avoided and the “distressing and disastrous” root canal would never have been necessary.
Neither dentist admitted liability.
What is dental negligence?
Dental Negligence is when a dental professional has made a mistake or delayed treatment which has caused significant pain or damage to your mental well-being
Some common examples of dental negligence include:
- Incorrect and delayed diagnosis of teeth health and even oral cancer
- Nerve injury
- Cosmetic dentistry
- Periodontal Disease Misdiagnosis
- Mistakes in treatment leading to the loss of a tooth or multiple teeth
- Surgical Errors in extraction and root canal treatment
Who can claim for dental negligence?
The victim of the negligence can bring about a claim in their own right. Or, in some, a claim may be able to made on behalf of a victim who may have passed away as a result of the negligence or someone who has suffered so severely that they are unable to bring about a claim themselves. This may be because they no longer have the capacity.
In this case, a claim may be made on their behalf by an appropriate person or litigation friend if the victim is still with us, or by the executor of the estate of the surviving dependant if the victim has passed.
Oakwood Solicitors’ specialist team will be able to discuss whether you have a right to bring about a claim, so if you or a loved one has been affected do not hesitate to contact us.
How much can I claim?
It is often difficult to value dental negligence claims at their outset, given the complexities involved however we will pursue two forms of compensation for you:
General damages – For the pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the negligence.
Special damages – For all of your out-of-pocket expenses such as travel expenses, medication costs, loss of earnings, and treatment costs both past and future.
This list is not exhaustive and is very case-specific.
Further reading
Dental negligence claims – Oakwood Solicitors
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Carol Cook joined Oakwood Solicitors in May 2017 to lead the Medical Negligence Department.
Carol handles a wide range of clinical, cosmetic and dental negligence claims and has years of experi…
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