
Our client, a man in his late 50’s from the South East, was a patient at the Defendant’s dental practice for a number of years, but despite attending regularly and having been found to have a number of warning signs over the years (gingivitis, minor tooth mobility, and some bone loss on x-ray), he was not diagnosed with chronic adult periodontitis or given any treatment for that condition, until he complained of significantly loose teeth in July 2011.
The Defendant dentist then identified substantial bone loss on x-ray and referred our client for specialist periodontal treatment.
However, by that time significant damage had been caused to his teeth, and he required immediate extraction of the UL7 tooth.
A prolonged course of periodontal treatment then took place in an attempt to save his remaining teeth. However, despite that treatment, our expert evidence confirmed that he would also inevitably lose the UL6 and the LR6 teeth in the near future.
As a consequence of the loss of 3 of his teeth, our client is now required to undergo extensive restorative dental work, including bone grafting to his upper and lower jaw and the placement of 3 implants and crowns.
Having obtained expert evidence which confirmed the Defendant’s breach of duty over a long period of time for failing to diagnose and treat our client’s condition, a Letter of Claim was submitted.
The Defendant’s legal representatives failed to formally respond to the claim for some time, then tried to settle the claim for just £12,500 initially.
After much delay, the Defendant did eventually confirm that they would not contest breach of duty. Subsequently, settlement negotiations were successfully concluded in the sum of £25,000.
Alex Tengroth, who had conduct of the claim, commented:
“Although the Defendant’s legal representatives took an unnecessarily long time to properly engage in the claim process, the outcome represents a good settlement for my client.
I am pleased that my client can now put this matter behind him and obtain the expensive treatment he requires in order to restore his dentition.”