A forty-year-old woman has been awarded £22,000 in compensation after eight of her teeth were removed and she suffered with painful dental infection; Sarah Taylor sued Dr Allan Clark for the work carried out at Broadwalk Dental Practice in Buxton after she was left requiring expensive restorative care, including bridges, crowns, dentures, and repeated root canals.
Sarah told The Derbyshire Times ‘My treatment began in November 1993 when I went to see Dr Clark with bad toothache in two teeth on the left side of my mouth. He told me I needed two fillings. I returned in June with continued pain and had a further three fillings. Days later I made another appointment with toothache but more severe than before.’
Dr Clark went on to remove one of the teeth that had already been filled, which Sarah described as ‘mortifying’ as this treatment had not been discussed prior to the appointment. She added that ‘it was all downhill from there,’ as she visited the clinic 39 times over the next 16 years until her final treatment in December 2009. Sarah explained that Dr Clark ‘attempted to remove another two of my teeth in August 2007, and I also developed 12 teeth and gum infections during my time in his care.’
The Dental Law Partnership took on the case and found evidence that Sarah had suffered as a direct result of Dr Clark’s care. Sarah commented that the compensation meant that she could move on from her dental problems, saying ‘I’m glad this chapter of my life has been closed and this has now been settled.’