Dental Negligence claims

Visiting the dentist for routine check-ups and treatments is important to maintain the condition of your teeth. However, sometimes mistakes are made. Patients may be left distressed, in pain, and requiring expensive corrective treatment following the error of a dentist, which could have been avoided with good practice.

If you are suffering due to negligent dental treatment, either through the NHS or privately, you may be entitled to make a dental negligence claim.

Most people find visiting the dentist daunting at the best of times, so at Fletchers Solicitors, we understand the upset that dental negligence can bring. We will do our best to walk you through a claim as simply and painlessly as possible. With over 400 years’ combined experience, our specialist team are dedicated to getting you the justice you deserve – so you can rest assured that you are in safe hands.

What is a dental negligence claim?

Dental negligence happens when the treatment that a dentist provides falls below an acceptable standard, resulting in a patient suffering or gaining an injury. This could include anything from failure to spot tooth decay, to cosmetic dentistry mistakes or even in severe cases the misdiagnosis of oral cancer. These consequences are ultimately avoidable, so it’s important to make a claim to fight for the compensation that you deserve.

In order to successfully claim compensation for dental negligence, you must provide evidence to prove that substandard care occurred. This may seem like a daunting task, but with our expert team of lawyers on your side, the work will be done for you. We will collect and present the relevant medical records, documents and statements to make sure that you have the best chance possible in receiving the compensation that is rightly yours. We will cover all fees for you under our No Win, No Fee agreement, so you can forget about the financial strain of making a claim and focus on getting better.

Different types of dental negligence claims

Broadly speaking, the main types of dental negligence claims are:

• Cosmetic dentistry
  Claims which involve veneers, crowns, bridges, invisible braces or other work which is designed to improve the appearance of teeth
• Periodontal (gum) disease
  Claims which involve a failure to diagnose gum disease, which can result in the patient losing one or more teeth and suffering from bleeding and infection in their mouth
• Root canal treatment claims
  Claims whereby a part of a dentist tool breaks off in a patient’s tooth, or the dentist fails to fill the tooth properly
• Tooth extraction claims
  Claims when the wrong tooth is removed, or when fragments of the tooth are left in place
• Oral cancer claims
  Claims surrounding the breach of care during routine check-ups and failure to spot any abnormalities

If you or a relative has suffered unnecessarily due to the consequences of a dental visit, you could be entitled to compensation.

Is there a time limit on making a dental negligence claim?

You have three years to make a dental negligence claim, starting from the date that you first realised that you’d experienced substandard dental treatment. It’s likely that you found out that a mistake had been made shortly after it happened, but in some cases it can be months, or even years before patients become aware that this was due to negligence.

A claim can be made on behalf of a close friend or family member if they have passed away or do not have the mental capacity, in which case the time restrictions may vary. To find out if you are within the time restrictions and are liable to make a claim, we recommend you speak to one of our legal advisors free of charge on 0330 013 0251.

If you’re unsure about the timescales of your claim or if there is any ambiguity around the details of your treatment, speak to a dedicated legal advisor today to discuss your case on 0330 013 0251.