my rights regarding poor dental treatment

izzi818

Hi, hopefully someone can help with some guidance here. Firstly, I live in Scotland, in case jurisdiction is important!

Over a year ago I received some poor dental treatment from a private dentist. I complained, and he offered me a refund but nothing more. Since then I have had to visit other dentists for remedial work as a result of the poor treatment. I have tried to pursue the matter legally but have been unable to obtain an expert opinion agreeing there was negligence - it would seem these are hard to get in the case of dental/medical situations.

So rather than keep trying this road I would be happy if the original dentist gave me a refund, and reimbursed me for the further treatment I have required. I know I have rights as a consumer, and there are supply of goods and services laws, but I'm not sure exactly where I stand. Am I entitled to this reimbursement, or is it just up to the dentist whether they feel like paying up? If I have to go to a small claims court, is that going to get complicated as getting an expert opinion on negligence seems unlikely?

Thanks for the help... this has been quite a mental drain over the past year (tooth still isn't fixed) and I'd really like to just move on

pcombo

Why was it poor, what happend?

You got a refund move on and go to an NHS dentist.

shaun_from_Africa

NHS dentists still require some payment, and if the remedial treatment involves cosmetic dentistry, the cost of this will be covered by the NHS.

arcon5

How much was you refunded?

What was/is the cost of all remedial work?

i.e. what are your losses so far?

bris

Now that you have been to other dentists, there is nothing to say that they haven't made things worse and caused the problems. You needed a report after the original dentist to say he messed up. Now you have had other dentist rummaging about in there , liability is tainted and all the dentists could very well blame each other.

brook2jack

First things first was this nhs or private treatment?

If nhs then complain, in writing , to the original practice. If you are not satisfied then they have to inform you of how to pursue complaint which is to write to your local health board.

If private then write again to practice and then if not satisfied you write /email or phone the dental complaints service https://www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk
Who will progress complaint and have a very high patient satisfaction rate and quick resolution times (most within four weeks) and is free and impartial.

The difficulty is you may think the problem is due to poor dentistry but it may not necessarily and if other dentists don't agree then litigation will be long and expensive as small claims courts do not deal with cases involving clinical negligence.

Hermione_Granger

The difficulty is you may think the problem is due to poor dentistry but it may not necessarily

But I find it hard to believe that a dentist would offer a full refund for treatment they carried out if they didn't think that they had done something wrong.

I complained, and he offered me a refund but nothing more

brook2jack

Dentists in the UK are more likely to be sued than anywhere else in the world. Even when there is no negligence the process can end up costing a dentist thousands in lost earnings etc for hearings. So often the defence societies advice (these are the insurers that cover dentists for negligence) is when a patient complains hand them their money back rather than go through complaints service ,litigation etc which is incredibly stressful even when the dentist has done nothing wrong.

Dentistry is very difficult to judge as the strongest thing you can have is a natural tooth. Once that has decayed or broken you are then replacing it with something less strong in a mouth that has challenging conditions. Sometimes things go wrong not because of negligence but because you are repairing damage in less than ideal conditions.

izzi818

Thanks for the replies. It was a private dentist. I have veneers on my 2 top front teeth. One chipped, so I went to him to have it replaced. Rather that replace it with the same type, he decided, without consultation, to fit a different type of veneer for which he removed part of the biting edge of the tooth. He gave me a very poor veneer, which left my teeth misaligned, and as a result of removing part of the tooth damaged the nerve. I was in pain for over a month before I had root canal treatment and the veneer replaced. I've never had problems with the tooth before. Over a year later I'm still suffering with pain. I paid about £400, and have since paid about £400 in remedial work. Surely he should be liable for the remedial work?

wealdroam

izzi818 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. It was a private dentist. I have veneers on my 2 top front teeth. One chipped, so I went to him to have it replaced. Rather that replace it with the same type, he decided, without consultation, to fit a different type of veneer for which he removed part of the biting edge of the tooth. He gave me a very poor veneer, which left my teeth misaligned, and as a result of removing part of the tooth damaged the nerve. I was in pain for over a month before I had root canal treatment and the veneer replaced. I've never had problems with the tooth before. Over a year later I'm still suffering with pain. I paid about £400, and have since paid about £400 in remedial work. Surely he should be liable for the remedial work?

But the original dentist has offered a refund... of £400, I assume.

If he (or anyone else) pays you for the remedial work, then you would've had all you treatment without spending anything.

Why do you think that is right?

brook2jack

A veneer is never as strong as your own teeth and will either chip because you have eg bitten your nails/Sellotape etc or because the bite is "tight" and the thin porcelain is under too much stress. If you replace with the same thickness of veneer it will chip again. Most veneer preparations involve taking down part of the biting surface of the tooth.

Whenever you prepare a tooth for a crown or veneer there is a 25% chance of the nerve dying off and it needing a root treatment, even when every precaution is taken. So it is very difficult to say a root treatment is due to negligence , rather than bad luck.

The original veneer was necessary because of ? damage. It broke due to damage again and needed to be replaced so you are talking of a tooth that has had a bit of trauma even before the dentist touched it. A year on and the tooth is still painful after a root filling performed by someone else and this is a tooth traumatised even further. You have been unlucky but not necessarily a victim of negligence.