Have a question? Call us on 0800 1979 345
This article was published on March 26th, 2020
The moment comes for a family photo or a selfie with a loved one on a sunny beach …’say cheese’, everyone in the picture has a white and wide smile, except you. Your teeth are shielded by your lips. You are conscious of the condition of your teeth, is this because you are a victim of dental negligence?
Your teeth are not only important to your health but also your self-esteem. When something happens to them it can feel like the end of the world. You feel like you can’t smile even if you wanted to.
Whilst you may think that dental negligence stops with your teeth, the actual extent of a dental negligence case can go much deeper than the appearance of your teeth.
We are going to look at the different types of dental negligence claims that can be made.
There are two main types, which victims of dental negligence may make. The first is for misdiagnosis or failure to act. The second is for inadequate or insufficient dental treatment.
As is evident from the name, misdiagnosis claims may be brought when your dental practitioner fails to identify the correct cause of your dental problem. As a result of misdiagnosis, a claim may also be brought for the dental practitioner’s failure to act. Not only will a misdiagnosis fail to fix a dental issue, it may escalate the problem causing further damage to your teeth, gums and jaw.
These cases are as a result of your dental practitioner using substandard techniques when administering treatment or failing to recognise when treatment is necessary, which can lead to serious issues in the future.
What kind of issues can I claim for?
We’ve put together a list of common cases that can lead to dental negligence claims. Note this list is not exhaustive and many more issues may give rise to a claim.
A root canal treatments are complex procedures. They take place over two visits and the work carried out by the dental practitioner needs to be precise and accurate. Roots should be measured and the margins correct.
If you have ever experienced a tooth extraction you’ll know just how painful it can be even when carried out in a professional and competent manner. If however, a tooth is extracted and the proper precautions or care haven’t been taken, it may lead to problems such as adjacent teeth being damaged, nerve damage, (which may be irreversible) and in some situations blood poisoning.
Of course, unforeseeable complications may occur and in these scenarios, it’s unlikely that a successful claim can be made. However, if you speak to a member of our dental negligence team, they’ll be able to give you advice on whether you will be able to present a claim.
When a patient undergoes a cosmetic procedure for their teeth, they’re usually hoping to improve their smile. However, should you become the victim of dental negligence at the hands of a cosmetic dentist, you can be left with serious dental issues.
Cosmetic procedures include veneers, crowns, and bridges. Before you have any work done your dentist should conduct an extensive assessment of your oral health and hygiene and establish what it is you are hoping to achieve.
If they fail to do this, they run the risk of carrying out a procedure that isn’t suitable or appropriate and thus may become liable for a claim.
If you have been seeing your dentist for a number of years and they failed to diagnose the onset of gum disease, you may be able to make a claim.
Gum disease can lead to pain and bleeding gums and in advanced cases can lead to tooth loss and infection. Repairing the damage caused by gum disease can be painful and expensive.
In order to know for certain that you are eligible to make a valid claim for dental negligence, you should contact a specialist personal injury solicitor that specialises in dental negligence cases.
Here at Thorneycroft Solicitors, we have specialist solicitors who are experienced in dealing with all manner of dental negligence claims. If a dentist or dental practitioner has caused you any harm or discomfort then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team.
We offer a free initial interview in order to review your specific circumstances and assess the viability of your dental negligence claim.
To speak to one of our specialist team call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 093 2030, or complete our simple enquiry form and we can call you back at a time to suit you.
This website privacy notice sets out how Thorneycroft Solicitors uses and protects any information that you give Thorneycroft Solicitors when you use this website.
Thorneycroft Solicitors is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
Thorneycroft Solicitors may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 01/05/2018.
What we collect
We may collect the following information:
We will collect the information directly from you via completion of our enquiry form on the website.
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
We will also collect and process your personal data if you have consented to receiving marketing in respect of our services. You are able to unsubscribe or withdraw your consent at any time by emailing [email protected] or writing to ‘Marketing’ at Thorneycroft Solicitors, 9a Bridge Street Mills, Bridge Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 6QA.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Retention
If you do not instruct us in relation to your legal matter, your personal details will be retained for a period of 12 months.
If we are instructed in relation to your legal matter, we will keep it in line with our data retention periods. Details of our retention period for your legal matter can be found within our Client Care Letter and/or Terms of Business, under the heading file retention.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Your Rights
Google AdWords
This website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to our site. It could mean that we advertise to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on our site, for example using the contact form to make an enquiry. This could be in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page, or a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the website. Of course, any data collected will be used in accordance with our own privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy.
You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Preferences page, and if you want to you can opt out of interest-based advertising entirely by cookie settings or permanently using a browser plugin.
×