Mrs A complained about the dental treatment that she received when she was given a crown, particularly that one of her opposing teeth was ground down too far.
What happened
Mrs A had a crown fitted because she had a broken tooth. She complained that the dentist ground down the tooth opposing the one that she was having treatment on. She was concerned that this was unnecessary, and that it caused her pain and sensitivity.
What we found
Although it was appropriate that the opposing tooth was ground down, we found that, on the balance of probabilities, the dentist removed too much enamel from Mrs A's tooth. This resulted in the problems with this tooth that she described.
Putting it right
The dental surgery acknowledged that a dentist removed too much enamel when grinding down the tooth opposing Mrs A's crown, and apologised. The dental surgery paid her £200 in recognition of the distress she experienced. It produced an action plan documenting how it will learn from what happened and what it will do to prevent the same thing happening again.
A dental practice
Portsmouth
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Apology
Compensation for non-financial loss
Recommendation to learn lessons or draw up an action plan