I had a filling on the NHS which went wrong?

Question

I am of 16 years of age and a year or so ago I had what I believed to be a small filling in one of my teeth midway between the front and gap in the hospital without needles involved due to a fear of needles. From what I heard from my new dentist, the filling was not done properly and the tooth has now got infected and worse. I have had to have a lot of the tooth drilled out, leaving an unsightly gap. Also, I have been warned If the infection has spread to my nerves a root canel may have to be done or if it is really bad, the tooth will have to be taken out.
I am wondering as this is not my fault, could the NHS be responsible and, if they are, am I eligable for compensation?
If I am any previous cases/lawsuits would be appreciated :)

Answer 1

Having worked for the NHS for the last 3 years in a hospital setting, my heart sagged as I read your message. I am so sorry that your not happy with the outcome of your treatment. There is always a risk that fillings require revisiting for a variety of reasons, and this is always disappointing when it happens shortly after wards. This I do understand. However I would also like you to think about the people who helped you despite your phobia and placed the filling in the first place. They will have done their best and followed their own clinical experience to help you.

I'm curious to know other than money what you plan to gain from trying to gain compensation? If it's purely money then I think you have to question your own morals. It could be better to contact the hospital and ask for an appointment as you require a second opinion about your tooth. Chances are they will offer you some explanations, and the answers may be the compensation you are looking for.

NB. The NHS is unlikely to award you compensation as you willingly undertook the procedure and as long as the actions undertaken by the clinitions is considered best practice (what other dentists would have done) then the complaint will be taken no further.

Answer 2

There is probably not a case or compensation here as the original dentist did the original treatment based on your actual clinical needs at the time. There is nothing to suggest at the time that anything was wrong.



Your new dentist has rather unusually commented on the previous dentists treatment and they rarely do that, and as you say the original filling was a while ago the situation can change and decay can re occur and mean that a filling needs to be done again or the materials have chipped and decay has entered which again no one is responsible. Decay can and will occur anywhere at any time in some situations and this is difficult to prove against the wrong treatment.



No win no fee solicitors will not touch this as it is a grey area and you will need a medical negligence specialist solicitor and even they may not want the case. The fees are high and the costs will mount up. You will need to start with an expert opinion from a specialist in this area and then you will know whether you can claim, but I think you will be disappointed at what they have to say. The time span is too long between the original filling and the one now, anything could have happened in that time,

Answer 3

Doubt you'll get composition. You'll get the treatment you need.