A woman has been awarded £7,000 in compensation after losing her front tooth as a result of a botched root canal procedure.
Miranda Carpenter, 38, was told the routine dental operation had been a complete success – but within weeks she was suffering from agonising pain.
She was unable to eat or brush her teeth properly but her dentist insisted it had nothing to do with the work he had carried out.
It was only after visiting a new dentist who carried out a series of x-rays that Miranda was finally told that the severe pain was down to the root canal treatment.
She said: “I was so upset. The whole experience completely knocked my confidence and exacerbated my depression and anxiety.
“I had to take so much time off work for the doctor and dentist appointments I was having.
“I think I knew something was wrong during the whole process but I never imagined it would turn out this badly.”
Dr Reena Halai carried out Miranda’s root canal procedure at Broadway Dental Surgery in St Ives, Cambs., in April 2013.
He assured her it had been successful but was soon left in severe pain.
Miranda said: “The pain was excruciating, I couldn’t eat or brush my teeth properly.
As it was my front tooth, I was conscious of it all the time.
“After the root canal treatment, my tooth was throbbing.
“I went back to see Dr Halai three months later and she said it was my sinuses, and not a result of the treatment.
“For months I was going between my GP and Dr Halai trying to find out where the pain was coming from.”
Dr Halai eventually prescribed antibiotics for Mrs Carpenter but her tooth was still extremely painful and sensitive.
Miranda went to see a new dentist in June 2014 who explained Dr Halai’s root canal treatment had caused the damage.
Repeat root canal treatment was attempted, however much to her disappointment, the new dentist informed her that the tooth could not be saved and had to be extracted.
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs Carpenter’s case in July 2014, and it was successfully settled in June 2017 when Dr Halai paid £7,000 in an out-of-court settlement.
He never admitted liability.
Georgina France of the Dental Law Partnership said: “What our client went through was completely unnecessary.
“If the dentist had performed Mrs Carpenter’s root canal treatment properly the first time, the suffering she went through could have been avoided.
“We hope the compensation she receives goes some way towards paying for the additional treatment required.”
A spokesperson for the practice said: “Dr Halai is no longer a dentist at our practice.
“Patient care is our priority and we would like to apologise for the experience Ms Carpenter has had.”
