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Clinical Negligence

Patient requires dental implant after bodged root canal

Miss K cracked her lower right 6 (LR6) tooth when she bit into an olive stone.  She attended her dentist who stored the tooth, but the tooth became painful and Miss K’s gumline swelled so she returned to the dentist less than two months later.

Miss K was informed she would need root canal treatment followed by a crown.  The root canal treatment took place a month later and the crown was fitted two months after that.

Following treatment Miss K suffered with pain in her tooth.  Three months after her crown had been fitted she attended a different dentist at the practice for an emergency appointment.  She was referred to an endodontist who confirmed she had chronic apical periodontist which was associated with the failed root canal treatment.  They found part of a fractured instrument within the root of the tooth.

She underwent endodontic treatment but this had to be abandoned as it was not possible to successfully re-root canal the tooth.

Miss K continued to have ongoing infections within the tooth and was informed she tooth would need to be extracted and replaced by an implant.

Miss K instructed Jenny Waight at Thomson Snell & Passmore to recover compensation on her behalf.

Jenny Waight instructed a dental expert to report on Miss K’s case.  On review of the x-rays it was found that the dentist had failed to negotiate the curve in one of the mesial root canals and so failed to clean and shape the root canal to the desired position. Having failed to prepare the root canal adequately it was inevitable that he would fail to seal the root properly.  It was inappropriate for the dentist to then proceed to place the crown on the tooth in light of the x-rays which showed clearly that the root canal had not been successful.

Jenny successfully obtained an out-of-court settlement of £8,500 to compensate Miss K for her pain and suffering and to pay for her implant and any future treatment she may require.

Jenny Waight specialises in dental negligence cases.  If you would like to ask Jenny a question about a potential case, or if you have a general query about any clinical negligence, contact Jenny Waight at Thomson Snell & Passmore solicitors on 01892 701374 in confidence.

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