Wasim Patel first sought treatment in 2013 and, after 10 years of suffering, decided he needed to take legal action
A Preston man has been awarded £11,000 by two of his former dentists after they allegedly failed to diagnose and treat years of tooth decay in three of his teeth, which led to infections and tooth loss.
Mr Wasim Patel, a 28-year-old civil servant, was a patient of Dr Mark Walsh at Deepdale Dental Center from 2013-2016 and Dr Ahmed Al Sharef from 2022-2023, claiming both dentists failed to recognize his severe tooth decay. Both deny responsibility.
After experiencing severe throbbing pain, swelling, repeated infections, abscesses and multiple root canals, Patel’s problems only became more acute when he lost a tooth.
Mr Patel said: “After seeing Dr Walsh for a few years for routine appointments, in 2016 I saw him as I had pain in my upper left tooth.
“He had it sealed, but a few years later in 2018 it was still painful when I ate and chewed on that tooth, and it was so swollen that it made my cheek swell.
“In 2019, the filling fell out and I had to have a root canal. At the same time I started having a toothache in another tooth on the upper right side of my mouth, which also required fillings.”
After this experience, Patel decided he needed a change and sought help from Dr Ahmed Al Shareef, associate dentist at Smart Dental Care, which operates at Deepdale Dental Centre.
“I visited Dr Al Sharef in 2022 as my upper right tooth worsened despite treatment and I had a throbbing pain radiating to my head and ear,” he said. “I had several appointments with him as I got abscesses and lumps on my gums which had to be drained and there was pus leaking into my mouth which smelled and tasted so bad. I also found it difficult to eat as it was so painful.
“Dr Al Sharef eventually chose to root canal the tooth, but when he was putting the crown on it was not the right size and so it got stuck.
“He was taking it out, but it wasn’t moving, so he had to use a big piece of equipment, like a hammer, to hit the crown to get it out. It was so painful, and he ended up taking part of my tooth out with the crown. I was in shock and didn’t know what to do.
“I went to another dentist after that as the upper right area hurt so much and had an infection causing swelling. Then I had to have the upper right tooth pulled which caused a big gap in my mouth.”
Believing poor dental work had caused it, Patel felt so self-conscious that he traveled to Turkey for implant work as he could not afford treatment in the UK.
“The whole experience was just shocking and I didn’t realize the extent of my mistreatment until my records were reviewed,” she said. “After everything happened and I lost my tooth, the gap in my mouth made me so self-conscious.
“I looked into getting an implant in the UK but it’s so expensive I couldn’t afford it so I resorted to going to Turkey to get it done. It made me feel miles better.
“I know I will need further treatment in the future and may lose additional teeth. It is disappointing that the tooth decay was not identified and treated earlier and I am just worried that I will be out of pocket with all the restorative treatments.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Patel’s case in 2023 and it was successfully settled in June 2025 when Mr Patel was paid £11,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentists involved did not admit liability.
Heather Owen of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The anguish and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, his problems could have been avoided.”
Regarding the case, Deepdale Dental Center said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment on individual cases. This decision is not only our practice policy but is the accepted policy across all UK healthcare organisations. We remain committed to respecting our patients’ privacy and upholding professional standards at all times.”
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