Mr K complained that he received poor dental care and treatment whilst under sedation. He said this meant he had to pay for treatment he did not consent to, and had to take more time off work, pay check–up fees, and lose money. He said he suffered inconvenience, distress, worry and pain.
What happened
Mr K has dentophobia, a fear of dentists. In 2013 he visited his usual dentist and was told that he needed various treatments, namely several fillings, teeth extraction and possibly root canal treatment. Mr K's dentist told him that this treatment could be done under sedation at another dental practice (the Practice) because of his dentophobia. The dentist referred Mr K to the Practice for the work to be carried out.
The Practice told Mr K that it could not do all the work at one visit. Soon after, Mr K had two wisdom teeth extracted under sedation. The Practice then wrongly told him that his usual dentist would need to re–refer him for the remaining work to be carried out.
Mr K returned to his usual dentist, who made another referral to the Practice. When Mr K went back to the Practice, his first appointment was another consultation, not any actual treatment. The Practice told him that it would waive the dental charge of £49 for the remaining work (four fillings) because of the mix up about asking him to be re–referred.
At the final appointment, Mr K had four fillings under sedation. After treatment, Mr K found out that the Practice had asked his granddad (who accompanied him on his final visit) to pay the £49 charge, and his granddad had paid this. He also discovered that a further appointment had been booked for root canal treatment.
What we found
It was reasonable that the Practice removed Mr K's wisdom teeth at the first appointment. However, it was wrong for the Practice to have asked Mr K to return to his usual dentist for a further referral for his filling treatment. It was inappropriate for the Practice to ask Mr K's granddad to pay a dental charge that it had previously agreed to waive.
We could not say with any certainty what happened at the last appointment. This is because Mr K's dental records were poorly completed. Nevertheless it was reasonable that one of his teeth was prepared for root canal treatment.
These failings resulted in Mr K having to take time off work unnecessarily, and incur check–up fees, inconvenience and distress.
Putting it right
The Practice apologised to Mr K and paid him £200. It also told Mr K what it has done to improve its record keeping.
A dental practice
Essex
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Apology
Compensation for financial loss
Taking steps to put things right