Dentist provided very poor care to a young patient

What happened

Miss K, a child, attended the Practice in 2009. She had regular six–monthly appointments with Dentist A until mid–spring 2012. She had fillings on three occasions, but no X–rays were ever taken. When Miss K went for her check–up in early 2013, Dentist A had left the Practice so she saw a different dentist. Dentist B immediately took X–rays and found extensive decay in six of Miss K's teeth. Four of these teeth were so decayed that they needed to be taken out, one needed a crown, and one needed a filling.

Miss K's father complained to the Practice. The Practice said that Dentist A was confident that the care had been in line with good practice and that he had treated Miss K's 'visible' decay.

What we found

There were significant failings in the care the Practice gave to Miss K, and the extractions and crown could have been avoided if she had received proper care. Treating the 'visible' decay did not mean that the care was appropriate. The Practice should have taken X–rays to identify any decay which was not visible from a visual examination. Miss K was at high risk of decay, and there were three occasions when the Practice should have carried out X–rays. If X–rays had been taken, the decay in Miss K's teeth would have been diagnosed much sooner, and it is likely that she would only have required fillings rather than extractions.

At Miss K's first appointment with Dentist B, the new dentist, X–rays were carried out which identified the severe decay.

One of the fillings Dentist A carried out was inadequate because it was the wrong type of filling for the tooth. This filling was less hard–wearing than a normal filling and this tooth went on to need extraction. This could have been avoided if Dentist A had done the correct filling initially.

There was no evidence that Dentist A provided any oral hygiene advice to Miss K. Miss K was at high risk of decay, so she should have been given preventative advice. Dentist A should also have treated Miss K's teeth with dental sealant, which can help to prevent decay in high risk patients.

Putting it right

We recommended that the Practice apologise to Miss K and her family, and pay them £5,150. This was in recognition of the pain and discomfort the extractions and the crown caused Miss K, and to enable her to have implants fitted to replace the lost teeth.