£50,000 Settlement
Pryers have recovered £50,000 in compensation for a dental patient who suffered the loss of multiple teeth due to periodontal disease which went without diagnosis and treatment for years.
The patient attended for dental treatment under the care of the two dentists between 1980 and 2010.
During the course of investigations Pryers commissioned expert evidence from an independent dentist who advised there had been a negligent failure to provide even basic periodontal examinations and failed to take routine radiographs during nearly a thirty-year period. The expert found that the dentists’ failure to diagnose the patient’s periodontitis resulted in the loss of six teeth.
A specialist in periodontics was asked to consider the likely prognosis had the patent’s periodontal disease been diagnosed in its early stages. The expert found its progress could have been arrested, the patient’s periodontal bone loss would have been avoided with appropriate care and the patient would have been expected to keep all of his teeth, which were present in 1980, for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, after examining the patient, the expert found they faced the prospect of losing three further teeth in the near future to periodontal disease.
With the assistance of our expert, we were able to identify the extensive restorative treatment the patient would require, including provision of partial upper and lower acrylic dentures, bilateral maxillary sinus lift surgery and placement of a fully supported maxillary prosthesis as an interim measure. After several months of healing the patient would then require placement of two implants in the maxilla and six implants in the mandible, with bone grafting in the anterior maxilla and mandible including sinus augmentation in the posterior areas.
Pryers presented allegations of negligence to the dentists concerned and as a result were able to negotiate settlement in the sum of £50,000. The damages have enabled the patient to move on from the matter and have provided sufficient compensation to pay for all of the restorative treatment indicated by the expert in periodontics.
