Wakefield woman awarded £8,000 after dental work left her toothless on son's wedding day

Katherine Spencer, 63, from Wakefield, was given ill-advised dental bridge treatment leading to months of pain and infection, ruining a Christmas, and leaving her with a visible gap in her teeth on the day of her son’s wedding.

Ms Spencer was treated by a locum, Dr Arthif Danial, at Crigglestone Dental Care in Wakefield, who suggested replacing her dental bridge that had been in place for 28 years.

“In December 2021, I attended appointments with Dr Danial to have my old bridge removed and the new one installed,” Ms Spencer explained. “I knew very soon that something didn’t feel right; the bridge felt too high in my gums and very tight, so I had to revisit the practice to have it adjusted a few days later.

“It ruined Christmas that year as my gums remained really sore and I couldn’t eat anything other than very soft foods for the entire Christmas period.”

Ms Spencer returned to the practice on New Year’s Eve where her regular dentist removed excess glue from the original treatment by Dr Danial, and adjusted the bridge. However, she had to return multiple times in the following weeks because of pain and sensitivity under the bridge.

In February, X-rays taken by Dr Danial were reviewed by Ms Spencer’s usual dentist who spotted a failed root canal that hadn’t been treated.

“I had to visit a specialist in March 2022 as a result,” said Ms Spencer, “and at this appointment I was horrified to hear that I needed further root canal treatment, and that my case was far more complicated than Dr Danial had led me to believe.

“I continued to experience disruptive mouth pain for the next few months as I began a remedial programme with new dentists, which ultimately involved the bridge being removed and replaced.”

In August 2023, while awaiting a bridge replacement, Ms Spencer was in France to attend her son’s wedding when the bridge broke, leaving a large gap visible in her teeth.

“I was absolutely hysterical,” she said. “I had the tooth that had fallen out of the bridge in my hand and had to find an emergency dentist in the French countryside to stick the tooth back in on the morning of the wedding,” Ms Spencer recalled. “I couldn’t eat during the wedding as I was terrified of the tooth falling out.”

The Dental Law Partnership, a law firm which specialises in cases relating to dental negligence, took Ms Spencer’s case on and found Dr Danial should have diagnosed and treated her underlying issues, meaning her months of pain should have been avoidable.

“The fallout from the dental errors made have affected every facet of my life and the two years of remedial treatment have been complete hell,” said Ms Spencer.

Kyle Padley of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, many of her problems could have been avoided.”

Although Ms Spencer was awarded £8,000 in an out of court settlement in January 2024, the dentist involved did not admit liability.