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This article was published on August 15th, 2016
A woman, who went through 10 years of pain and discomfort of having a painful ‘shark’ tooth digging into her upper lip, has won £10,000 dental compensation. The problems started when she was 10 years old and had problems with her milk teeth not falling out even though her adult teeth were coming through.
She noticed a lump in her top gum which later turned out to be a milk tooth which was growing up and out instead of falling out as her adult teeth came through. It was growing horizontally, sticking into the soft tissue of her mouth.
‘Shark teeth’ is the term sometimes used to describe the condition when baby teeth don’t fall out in time and the adult teeth start growing out above or sometimes behind the milk teeth which looks like there are two rows of teeth much like a sharks mouth.
According to the patient, her dentist should have referred her to an orthodontist when it was clear the tooth was a problem but instead they let the tooth grow for 8 more years causing unnecessary discomfort.
The woman became increasingly self-conscious through her teenage years and also continued to experience pain and it was only when she visited another dentist that she was advised that she should have been referred to an orthodontist when the tooth failed to fall out naturally.
She experienced bullying at school as a result of her teeth and claimed it made her lack confidence and caused her emotional stress as well as discomfort.
She said: ‘I thought he’d pull the baby tooth out, but he said it would fall out naturally. It caused really bad ulcers.
‘When I closed my mouth you could see a lump on the side of my face.
‘I was so embarrassed as kids at school would point it out.
‘My confidence was shattered.’
Most of the time you can trust your dentist to give you good quality care but on occasion, things go wrong and you need specialist advice. At Thorneycroft Solicitors we have specialist solicitors who have experience dealing with dental claims if a dentist or dental practitioner has caused you necessary pain and discomfort.
We offer a free initial interview in order to review your specific circumstances and assess the viability of your clinical 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.
