Poor treatment led to irreversible damage to teeth

What happened

Mrs E had gone to her dentist regularly for many years. In 2010 she went to the dentist in pain and X-rays showed that she had developed decay in two of her molar teeth. The dentist then treated both these teeth. Mrs E continued to have problems with her teeth and over the next two years had more treatment. Finally, she was referred to a dental hospital, where it was found that her two molar teeth were so badly decayed that they could not be restored.

What we found

The dental Practice had failed to treat all of the decay showing on Mrs E's X-rays, so it became worse over time. If her dentists had treated

the decay properly, her teeth would not have deteriorated to the point where they were beyond restoration.

The dental Practice had also not handled Mrs E's complaint properly.

Putting it right

The Practice acknowledged the failings we identified, apologised to Mrs E and prepared an action plan to prevent similar failings in future. It also paid her £3,000 compensation in recognition of the impact the damage to her teeth had had on her and the anger and upset caused by the Practice's poor complaint handling.