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This article was published on June 23rd, 2016
The charity, the CAB, which provides free advice for those who may not have access to legal counsel, has reported a rise in complaints about people having to payout to repair dental problems which came about after a dental procedure.
The CAB reports that they received approximately 4,000 calls from disgruntled patients in England and Wales who have had to pay large sums of money to rectify problems that they feel were caused by their dentist or dental practitioner both NHS and private.
There are two main areas of complaint: the first being about dental charges, payments and bad customer service and the second covers actual dental procedure including issues including cracking healthy teeth, knocking out fillings and poorly fitting dentures.
According to the CAB cases, nearly a quarter of the issues whereby poor dentistry was perceived to have been received, there was no offer of free repair or refund! The Consumer Rights Act states that patients (whether it is private or NHS) are entitled to free repairs by their dentist or a partial refund if it can’t be repaired and NHS dentists must replace or repair issues with fillings, inlays or crowns within 12 months.
The chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “If a dental treatment causes more problems for the patient, the law states that in most cases the dentist should be offering to repair this at no extra charge. Asking patients to pay could put their health at risk if they are unable to afford the further treatment.
“Dentists need to make sure that they aren’t charging patients for their mistakes and that they provide patients with clear information about how they can claim compensation if something goes wrong.”
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 dental negligence claim.
To speak to one of our specialist team call us now on FREEPHONE 0800 093 2030, or complete our simple online enquiry form and we can call you back at a time to suit you.
