A PATIENT has won thousands of pounds worth of compensation after botched dental work left her 'in excruciating pain' and requiring more than a year of corrective treatment.

The 47-year-old – who does not wish to be named – has settled a legal claim with Dr Ellen Clayden in August 2015.

Dr Clayden failed to remove decay on two of the woman’s teeth before carrying out fillings during work at Lymm Dental Practice, resulting in long-term dental problems.

Other fillings were poorly fitted, causing the patient’s teeth to grind together and inflame the surrounding area.

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Alarm bells began to ring when part of her tooth broke away around a year after the initial treatment, at which time she returned to the Henry Street surgery.

The patient, who runs her own business with her husband, said: “I couldn’t believe what was happening.

“One of the members of staff told me that Ellen Clayden was no longer working there and they were really sorry.

“She looked horrified and certainly gave me the impression I wasn’t the only one who had been left in a bad way.”

Fixing the ‘extensive damage’ required months of treatment costing thousands of pounds – including immediate root canal treatment, two replacement fillings and three new crowns being fitted.

Each crown will need to be replaced every 10 years, while the patient will also need to undergo further root canal treatment.

She was forced to use her savings and credit cards to fund the corrections, which left her badly bruised and were ‘completely avoidable’.

The woman added: “I spent 15 months in the dentist’s chair, all because of the treatment from that women.

“When I thought back, I realised she carried out new fillings and started drilling without having even done an x-ray on me.

“I remember thinking the fillings were really quick – much quicker than they usually take – and it made sense when I was told that she’d not cleaned the decay out of my teeth before replacing the fillings.

“It was a rush job without any care.”

She has now reached a settlement for £12,500 in damages after bringing a claim through dental negligence specialists Hudgell Solicitors.

The patient said: “The financial side of things on my family was huge and had a big impact on my life.

“We’re not people who like to put things on credit cards, but we had to cover the cost of all the treatment I needed somehow and we had to dip into our savings.

“I just fear others could be in the same position as me.

“Her negligence has had such a massive impact on my life – I faced more than a year of extensive treatment, missed a great deal of time off work and missed out on many social occasions such as weddings.

“I’d never previously been afraid of the dentist, but this has certainly put me off.”

Solicitor Sarah Scully added: “This is an example of inexcusably poor dental care, which has had a significant impact on our client’s life.

“It is appalling that such a long period of distress, both physically and financially, can be caused by a dentist failing to perform a basic procedure properly – it shows a complete lack of care or lack of skill, which should simply not happen when patients put their trust in professionals.

“Such poor care should never be left unchallenged either.

“Lessons need to be learned, and patients have a right to be aware of dentists making such mistakes.”