Cleaner awarded £8.4k compensation after dental mistake

A cleaner has been awarded compensation after a botched tooth extraction left part of his tooth stuck in his sinuses for two years. Mark Shire, 58, suffered from chronic sinusitis which left him unable to sleep or work due to constant pain and a blocked nose which made it difficult to breathe.

He had to undergo surgery to have the painful gnasher finally removed and was awarded £8,400 compensation after taking legal action.

Mark said: “I knew things weren’t going well because my dentist had struggled to extract my teeth. It was a very scary experience. I was very lucky that the problem was eventually detected and I never thought it would all be down to a tooth extraction.”

Mark visited his dentist in January 2020 because he had a sore mouth and had two teeth removed from his upper left side to relieve the dental pain. However, he immediately felt pain after the extractions and was told that his gums were not healing properly.

A year later, he returned to the same dental office in pain, was prescribed antibiotics, and his dentist cleaned out the tooth socket. For two years, Mark suffered from sinus problems, including terrible headaches, a stuffy nose, and a bad taste in his mouth.

He added: “In January 2022 I went to a GP surgery with sinus pain and congestion as I never thought it would be related to my teeth. They gave me antibiotics and nasal sprays but the problems persisted. I was then seen by a specialist in the ENT department.

“Despite several courses of antibiotics, I suffered from thick, foul-smelling green mucus coming out of the left side of my nose and into my throat, facial pain on the left side, and headaches on the left side.”

In June 2022, Mark was referred to hospital where a scan revealed he had left-sided sinusitis caused by a piece of tooth embedded in his sinus.

Mark added: “The sinusitis felt like I had a permanent cold. The blocked nose made it hard to breathe and I always had a horrible taste in my mouth from the pus draining. I often had trouble sleeping and sometimes couldn’t go to work because of the headaches. The whole experience was very scary. I’m so lucky that the condition was finally diagnosed, and I never thought it would all be down to a tooth extraction.”

He said he returned to his dentist in November that year to tell him what had happened to him following his treatment. He said he had an X-ray but received no apology. In May last year, he had surgery under general anaesthetic and surgeons removed the tooth fragment that had remained in his sinus.

Mark added: “I had to take two weeks off work to recover. After that my sinus problems went away and healed.”

Further analysis by the Dental Law Partnership revealed that the tooth extractions had resulted in a tooth fragment being fractured and pushed into the sinus. It also found that no attempt had been made to locate or remove it or to refer Mark to a repair service.

Mark’s case was successfully settled in April, when he was awarded £8,400 out of court. The dentist involved did not admit liability.

Heather Owen, of Dental Law Partnership, said: “The distress and pain our client suffered was completely unnecessary. If the dentist concerned had provided more satisfactory treatment, his problems could have been avoided.”

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