I won a £25,000 payout from dentist after I was left with ‘basically no teeth’
MUM Audra Weston first noticed a discomfort in her teeth in 2010.
From there, the cleaner was given emergency extractions, root canal surgery and different medications.
Now, years after the initial pain, she has won a £25,000 payout from dentists after she was left with 'basically no teeth'.
The 55-year-old was unable to speak, eat or work following multiple procedures, and said it had felt like a "living nightmare" as a patient at a practice in York.
Audra said she was "scared to leave the house" and was unable to chew properly as she was left with only a couple of teeth in her top jaw.
And despite having dentures fitted while being put on a "constant stream" of antibiotics, she suffered numerous infections, making it too painful to put them in her mouth.
She also had to miss part of her daughter's wedding as she said she was 'too self conscious'.
The mum had to wait four years to get into another dental surgery, as those in her area weren't taking on new patients.
She said: "It got to a point where I was basically left with no teeth - I couldn't keep the denture in so I was left with my gums.
"I couldn't eat anything as my gums were so painful it made it impossible to chew and I felt so self-conscious of my mouth that I was scared to leave the house.
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"I felt so self-conscious of my mouth that I was scared to leave the house. I didn't like going out because it was so embarrassing.
"It really has been a living nightmare. I went through so many treatments…and still ended up with no teeth and have essentially suffered four years of agony before it could be resolved.
"My daughter got married during this time, and I had to leave early and couldn't be in any of the photos because I was so anxious about my appearance."
"I was on a constant stream of antibiotics as I experienced infection after infection. It was miserable."
In 2019, after years of misery, she contacted the Dental Law Partnership.
Their investigation revealed a catalogue of dental errors, with staff failing to acknowledge and appropriately treat issues early enough, which led to her traumatic experiences.
Further inspections of her teeth also showed the remnants of roots from extractions, which had never been spotted and which had been the cause of recurrent infections.
The case was successfully settled last year when she was paid £25,000 in an out-of-court settlement. The dentist involved did not admit liability.
Just this year, she has been fitted with pain free dentures.
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Jane Littlewood of the Dental Law Partnership said: "The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.
"If the dentist involved had provided the correct preventative treatment at earlier signs of decay, her problems could have been avoided."