Missed decay caused 'years of pain and discomfort'

A man has been paid compensation from a Lincoln dentists after he claimed that they failed to properly diagnose and treat issues with nine of his teeth.

James Littleover, 37, from Lincoln, experienced years of infections, pain and discomfort after his dentists at Guildhall Dental Care made a number of mistakes in his care.

His case was settled out of court and he accepted £23,000 in compensation for the poor treatment, which he said left him "in almost constant pain" and "struggling to eat or drink".

Guildhall Dental Care has been contacted for comment.

Mr Littleover first became a patient at the dentist in 2006.

He had several treatments for decay during 2016 and 2019 but on visiting a private practice in 2021, was told he still had tooth decay and, he said, was told he had "previously experienced defective treatment".

Mr Littleover claims he went on to suffer with abscesses and infections that required root canal treatment, and said he was in so much pain he was "regularly on painkillers”.

Mr Littleover contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021, which analysed his dental records and built a case against the dentists.

The Partnership said that the dentists who saw him failed to diagnose and treat decay in nine teeth and provide satisfactory restorations on multiple teeth.

This, it is claimed, resulted in repeat root fillings, the loss of a tooth, and future restoration treatment.

The Partnership said Mr Littleover may also sustain the future loss of eight teeth, all of which it has claimed could have been avoided.

He said: “I dread walking into the dentist now. I know I’m going to be suffering for a long time with future extractions, and I just really don’t want to go through this constant pain with my teeth.

"Even now I can only eat on the right-hand side of my mouth. There’s still a long way to go until this is fixed properly.”

Tim Armitage, of the Dental Law Partnership, said the "distress and pain" Mr Littleover experienced was "completely unnecessary" and his problems "could have been avoided".