A woman from Wolverhampton has been awarded £6,500 in compensation after a dental procedure left her with a painful gap in her teeth, causing significant distress and impacting her quality of life.
Sandra Shaw, 59, sought dental treatment at Wollaston Dental Practice in Stourbridge in 2021/22, after an old crown she had worn for 34 years fell out. Unhappy with the appearance of her teeth, Shaw decided to invest in two dental implants. However, what followed was a series of failures that left her struggling with both physical and emotional distress.
Shaw described her experience as “stressful” and said the outcome shattered her confidence. “I’ve lost my confidence with the gap in my mouth. I’m so self-conscious I hardly smile anymore. It’s also difficult to eat on my upper left side,” she explained. The complications began shortly after the implants were fitted in February 2022, followed by implant-retained crowns placed in May of the same year.
Just a month later, one of the implants fell out after a screw became loose. Shaw reported that the dentist canceled several appointments and offered multiple excuses for the delays. “I decided to go to another practice to get it looked at. A few months later, in September, I lost the second implant crown,” Shaw added.
Despite attempts to salvage the work, the problem persisted. Shaw’s frustration led her to seek legal advice from the Dental Law Partnership, who uncovered significant issues with the treatment. According to the law firm, the implants had been placed without sufficient evaluation of the bone structure and without recommending necessary bone grafts. Additionally, the implants were not the correct size, leading to loosening screws and ultimately the failure of the implants.
Tim Armitage, a spokesperson for the Dental Law Partnership, commented, “The distress and pain our client has experienced were completely unnecessary. If the dentist had provided satisfactory care, these issues could have been avoided.”
Wollaston Dental Practice, which has recently reopened under new ownership in January 2025, denied liability for the failed procedure. A spokesperson clarified that the dentist responsible for Shaw’s treatment is no longer associated with the practice and declined to comment on cases from the previous management.
Despite this, Shaw’s case was successfully settled out of court in August 2024, resulting in the £6,500 compensation. The settlement, while a financial relief, does not fully resolve the ongoing impact Shaw continues to feel due to the gaps in her mouth, which have affected both her physical comfort and self-esteem.
This case highlights the importance of thorough assessments and proper treatment protocols when undergoing dental implant procedures, and it underscores the potential consequences when these standards are not met.
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