Lymm woman awarded £7k compensation after dental misery

Janet Burton suffered ongoing toothache and infections due to long-term gum disease and decay, despite regular trips to see her dentists over a 20-year period.

As a result, the 66-year-old has lost two teeth, may lose another in the future and now requires substantial treatment to correct the issues that have since arisen.

However, the high school receptionist from Lymm has been awarded £7,500 from her dentists with the help and intervention of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership.

Janet visited various dentists at Museum Street Dental Surgery in the town centre, owned by Dr Ian Sproat and Dr David Sparke, between 1998 and 2018.

“Naturally, as my long-term dental practice, I trusted the dentists there and never thought there was anything to worry about,” she said.

“I was always led to believe my teeth were in good health – I had the odd filling here and there but never thought there was anything to worry about.”

It was 2007 when the first signs of issues with her oral health started to appear.

“I had some swelling and bleeding at my gums, but I was told it was just early stages of gum disease, she continued.

“It wasn’t much to worry about and could be controlled with regular trips to the hygienist, so I wasn’t overly concerned.

Janet was a regular patient at Museum Street Dental Surgery for more than 20 years (Image: Google Maps)

“I had a supposed treatment plan to keep it at bay that the dentists seemed to be following.”

However, Janet’s dental health only deteriorated further as she suffered from bouts of toothache, and she ended up having two teeth restored and a filling placed.

In 2012, one of the fillings became loose and had to be replaced.

“In hindsight, it seems obvious there was an issue with the treatment I was receiving, but the dentists just made me feel like everything was fine,” she commented.

After that, Janet’s problems only went from bad to worse as her fillings became loose yet again, and in 2014 she had to have a crown fitted on one of her teeth.

The following year, she developed an abscess on one of her teeth, but was only prescribed antibiotics.

“The whole ordeal became a complete nightmare – I kept suffering from painful swelling and infections and my crown had to be recemented,” she said.

“By 2019, I had finally had enough and decided to see a different dentist for a second opinion.

“The dentist was shocked at the state of my teeth and said I needed immediate bridgework.

“I couldn’t believe it – it suddenly dawned on me that the dentists at Museum Street Dental Surgery hadn’t been doing their jobs properly.”

Solicitors noted a failure to spot and treat decay that was clearly visible in X-rays

Janet contacted the Dental Law Partnership, which said that analysis of her dental records revealed a failure to properly treat and manage her gum disease dating back to 1998.

The solicitors also noted there was a failure to spot and treat decay that was clearly visible in X-rays.

Fillings and crowns were fitted that did nothing to resolve Mrs Burton’s dental problems, the partnership said, as well as that her crown had also not been placed with due skill and care.

This led to the pain and infections she experienced, the loss of two teeth and the possible future loss of another tooth, the concluded.

“The whole ordeal has been horrible, and it it’s all because, year after year, my dentists were not doing their jobs properly. It is soul destroying really,” she added.

Tim Armitage, of the Dental Law Partnership, commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.

“If the dentists had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, her problems could have been avoided.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs Burton’s case in 2020.

It was successfully settled this year when Dr Ian Sproat and Dr David Sparke, the owners of Museum Street Dental Surgery, paid £7,500 in an out of court settlement.

The practice owners did not admit liability.