Million dollar smile

Going to the dentist regularly is something we are all encouraged to do yet, dental injuries are more than likely to bring you further pain and discomfort.

Not many of us enjoy going to the dentist so ending up with damage isn’t something anyone of us want to deal with. Tooth damage or loss of teeth in an accident can be a real nightmare – there’s the constant pain, expensive dental work, and the vanity issue of looking different due to noticeably missing teeth.

In my experience dental injuries can arise from a vast array of circumstances. My cases have ranged from a worker being struck by a falling hammer on his mouth, a cyclist being thrown off their cycle due to a collision with a car to an ordinary pedestrian tripping over a defective paving slab and losing a tooth upon impact with the pavement. Other incidents may include biting a foreign object in food, sports contact and dental negligence.

Dental injuries can be immediately distressing as the pain is instant and usually accompanied by bleeding. Dental injuries are also associated with psychological injury as there may be an element of loss of confidence and self-esteem due to a change in personal appearance. The loss of teeth can make eating and talking more difficult affecting daily activities.

Surprisingly, many people do not realise they are entitled to make a claim if their dentist was negligent.

To give you an idea of the compensation you may receive, we can look at the official Judicial College Guidelines to get a very basic idea of what kinds of amounts are attached to tooth loss and teeth damage injury claims:

• Loss of or serious damage to several front teeth: £7,320 to £9,540
• Loss of or serious damage to two front teeth: £3,630 to £6,380
• Loss of or serious damage to one front tooth: £1,840 to £3,300
• Loss of or damage to back teeth: per tooth: £910 to £1,430

Many of my clients have incurred costs on obtaining expensive dental treatment following their negligent dentistry. I work to recover these costs. Keeping receipts or invoices for treatment and for pain medication or antibiotics is essential. It is also useful when my clients provide photos of the injury

I always obtain a report from an appropriate expert, usually a Consultant Dental Surgeon. This expert witness provides an opinion in relation to whether the injury is accident related, what the long term prognosis for the injury is likely to be and if appropriate any future treatment which is required. In certain cases an individual may need reconstructive surgery, bridges or replacement dentures or crowns.

Whilst a dental injury can be incredibly traumatic, with treatment the outcome can usually be positive. My role is to guide clients through the case process to ensure recovery of all reasonable losses arising from the incident as well as getting your smile back!