Doncaster dental patient left in '˜excruciating pain' after having crowns fitted over abscess

A Doncaster dental patient who was left in '˜excruciating pain' after crowns were fitted over an an abscess has been awarded more than £11,000 in compensation.
Paul OxleyPaul Oxley
Paul Oxley

Paul Oxley, 51, was awarded £11,250 from Dr Cristina Bindar, who was working at Church Road Dental Practice in Stainforth following a series of errors between 2010 and 2016.

The Dental Law Parnership said the dentist placed four '˜unsatisfactory crowns' and bridgework that quickly became loose.

Paul OxleyPaul Oxley
Paul Oxley
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Mr Oxley, a mobile phone engineer, said: 'It had been my dental practice for over 20 years.

'Sometimes dentists would move on or I'd see someone new, but I always trusted them and thought I was receiving good treatment. So when I started suffering from toothache in 2011 I made an appointment.'

An abscess appeared to be the main source of Mr Oxley's pain but Dr Bindar's solution was to place crowns at several of his teeth.

The work carried out on Paul Oxley's teethThe work carried out on Paul Oxley's teeth
The work carried out on Paul Oxley's teeth

Mr Oxley said: 'I remember thinking crowns were a strange choice. I thought an abscess would need treating with antibiotics or something, not covering But I just thought, '˜I'm not the professional'. The pain initially settled down, but by 2013 it had returned and was excruciating. I was having sleepless nights.'

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Then a crown fell off, so the dentist had to replace it. Mr Oxley also had a bridge fitted to his front teeth, and had another of his crowned teeth extracted.

Mr Oxley added: 'I didn't really understand why I suddenly needed all this dental treatment. I'd never had any problems with my teeth in the past. In hindsight, I suppose I should have asked more questions, but as I said, I trusted them.'

Paul OxleyPaul Oxley
Paul Oxley

Mr Oxley was back at the dentist just two years later complaining that the bridge was loose across his front teeth. He had also lost another crown. The crown was replaced but the bridgework wasn't recemented until the following year.

He said: 'Unbelievably, only a few months after the bridge was re-cemented, it came loose again. It was ridiculous. So I went to see another dentist because I was beginning to suspect that I wasn't receiving adequate treatment.'

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The new dentist re-cemented Mr Oxley's bridge in 2016 and again a third time in 2017. Mr Oxley was then referred to dental hospital.

The dental hospital advised him to undergo removal of the bridge and for it to be replaced with two crowns and a denture

 Later that year he had to return to his new dentist as one of his teeth had fractured.

Mr Oxley was informed he would have to be referred for the surgical extraction of the retained roots of one of his teeth.

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He said: 'It's upsetting and infuriating. On top of all the inconvenience, the pain was awful at times. There were days when I couldn't eat or drink. Even talking was difficult. You can't even concentrate so I ended up not being able to work properly. It was pretty horrendous overall.'

Tim Armitage of the Dental Law Partnership said: 'The distress and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, all his problems could have been avoided.' 

The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Oxley's case in 2017 and the case was successfully settled in 2018 when the dentist paid £11,250 in an out of court settlement.

In a statement, Church Road Dental Practice, said: 'Patient care is our priority and we're disappointed Mr Oxley has had this experience.

'We're unable to comment further on this issue as the settlement was reached by the dentist and not the practice.

'Dr Bindar no longer works at the practice.'

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