Wrong Tooth Extraction Claims Guide
Wrong Tooth Extraction Claims
This guide will explain how to claim compensation for wrong tooth extraction. A dentist may remove a patient’s tooth if the tooth is damaged or too diseased for treatment.
Dentists may extract a tooth because of the following medical conditions:
-
- Gum disease
- Severe tooth decay
- Severe abscesses
- The patient has a crowded mouth (too many teeth)
- Severe teeth damage
Unfortunately, if a dentist makes an error, they can remove the wrong tooth. So, the dentist would have removed a healthy tooth unnecessarily.
See If You Can Claim For Dental Negligence
If a dentist removed the wrong tooth, you might be able to claim compensation for dental negligence. Please get in touch with Legal Expert today to see if you are eligible to make a dental negligence injury claim. Our team can offer you free legal advice. And if our advisors believe you have a valid compensation claim, a skilled lawyer will start working on your claim.
Please get in touch with Legal Expert today to see if you could receive compensation:
- Call 0800 073 8804 to talk to our team
- Write to Legal Expert; fill out the online claims form
- Or use the Live Support widget to ask an advisor a question
Select A Section
- What Is Wrong Tooth Extraction?
- Did My Dentist Act In A Negligent Way?
- How Could Negligent Dental Surgery Harm You?
- Wrong Tooth Extraction Case Study
- What Payout Could You Get For A Wrong Tooth Extraction?
- How A Dental Negligence Solicitor Could Help You
What Is Wrong Tooth Extraction?
Wrong tooth extraction happens when a dentist removes the wrong tooth from a patient’s mouth. Or a dentist may damage a healthy tooth during extraction. You may wonder what can happen if the dentist extracts the wrong tooth. The patient may experience unnecessary pain. Moreover, if the tooth loss affects the patient’s mouth function or appearance, they may become distressed.
How Often Is The Wrong Tooth Pulled?
Dentists and therapists that operate in Wales were sent a survey. Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) found that 13% of dentists and therapists that responded to the survey had removed the wrong tooth from a patient’s mouth. And 75% of dentists said they did not have a safety checklist to reduce the risk of wrong tooth extraction.
Did My Dentist Act In A Negligent Way?
Dentists owe their patients a duty of care, which means they are supposed to provide patients with an adequate standard of care. Dental negligence is a form of medical negligence. It happens when a dental healthcare professional provides a patient with substandard care. Therefore the dentist’s duty of care is breached.
Under the following circumstances, you could sue the dentist for removing the wrong tooth:
- Firstly, you were the dentist’s patient. So, they owed you a duty of care.
- The dentist acted negligently, which led them to extract the wrong tooth or damage a healthy tooth during the extraction process.
- As a result, the incident caused avoidable psychological or physical injury.
To claim dental negligence compensation, you must be within the time limit to make a claim. It is normally three years from the injury. There are exceptions to the time limit please call our dental negligence claims line to find out if you are still within time to start a claim.
How Negligent Dental Surgery Could Harm You
Surgical errors can harm patients in the following ways:
- Wrong-site surgery, where the dentist operates on the wrong part of the mouth because they failed to check the patient’s records.
- The dentist breaks or fractures a healthy tooth because they deviate from professional standards.
- The dental instruments are not sterilised properly, causing an infection.
- Anaesthesia was given to the patient even though they had a known allergy to it.
Wrong Tooth Extractions Case Study
Mr W had a decayed tooth, and he sought dental advice. His dentist told him that the tooth needed to be extracted due to the level of decay. The dentist removed the incorrect tooth during the operation because the dentist failed to check Mr W’s notes when he returned for the tooth extraction.
Mr W experienced avoidable pain when a healthy tooth was removed. He also experienced discomfort because his injury made it harder to talk and eat. Mr W had to endure further dental surgery to remove the decaying tooth. Mr W made a successful dental negligence claim for his injuries, including a special damages payout for his dental expenses.
What Payout Could You Get For Wrong Tooth Extraction?
You may wonder how much compensation you can claim for the wrong tooth extraction. You could receive a general damages payment for having the wrong tooth removed and needing extra dental treatment to then go on and have the correct tooth removed. If you experienced unavoidable costs because of the negligence, you could receive a special damage payment to reimburse you.
Please get in touch with us today to estimate what your dental negligence compensation payout could be worth. An advisor can value your claim based on your injuries and circumstances. However, you can use our compensation table to calculate general damages. Special damages are not included in the table.
| Injury | Notes | Amount Guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Fractured Jaw (i) | Very serious and multiple fractures which are then followed by a long period of treatment. The person may be left with severe pain and restricted eating. | £30,490 to £45,540 |
| Fractured Jaw (ii) | Serious fractures which have lasting consequences for the person. They could find it difficult to eat or open their mouth. | £17,960 to £30,490 |
| Fractured Jaw (iii) | Simple fractures to the jawbone. The jaw does require immobilisation, but recovery is complete. | £6,460 to £8,730 |
| Damage To The Teeth | Where there may be chronic tooth pain lasting for several years and which is considerable. | Up to £38,130 |
| Damage To The Teeth (i) | Serious damage to or loss of several front teeth. | £8,730 to £11,410 |
| Damage To The Teeth (ii) | Serious damage to or the loss of two front teeth could be awarded an amount at the higher end of the bracket. | £4,350 to £7,630 |
| Damage To The Teeth (iii) | Serious damage to or the loss of one front tooth. | £2,200 to £3,950 |
| Damage to the teeth (iv) | Paid for damages to or loss of one of the back teeth. Rate per tooth. | £1,090 to £1,710 |
The compensation amounts in the table are based on 16th-edition compensation guidelines from the Judicial College. Solicitors use the compensation guidelines to help them value medical negligence claims. However, the rates in the table are not guaranteed payments if you win.
How A Dental Negligence Solicitor Can Help You
Please get in touch with Legal Expert today to see if you can begin your dental negligence claim for tooth loss. An advisor will speak to you in depth. If there is enough evidence to prove your claim, a knowledgeable medical negligence solicitor can begin work on your case.
Your solicitor can handle your medical negligence claim on a No Win No Fee basis. A No Win No Fee solicitor requires no solicitor fee beforehand. Instead, you will pay a success fee on the condition that you win your compensation claim. In this case, a success fee will be deducted from your compensation payment. If the claim fails, no success fee is needed.
The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 legally caps the success fee. Please contact Legal Expert to see if you can claim compensation for dental negligence.
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8804
- Request to make a claim online
- Alternatively, use the web chat service to speak to an advisor
Learn More About Dental Negligence
The following information may be helpful, if you want to claim injury compensation from a dentist.
How To Make A Dental Nerve Damage Claim
How Long Does A Dental Negligence Claim Take?
Dental Abscess Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?
Who is entitled to free NHS dental treatment in England? – an NHS guide
Chipped, broken or cracked tooth – an NHS guide
Making a complaint to your dental professional – information from the General Dental Council (GMC)
Learn about supermarket accident claims with our helpful compensation claims guide.
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming compensation for the wrong tooth extraction.
