The Caerphilly woman’s medical history indicated that veneers were not an option

Tracey Dowling, 58, was initially offered veneers treatment by her dentist, mydentist, in Tilehurst, Reading in the summer of 2022 after a series of treatment appointments.

He said: “In June and July 2022 I attended several appointments with Dr Hussain to discuss and proceed with veneer treatment as I wanted to improve my smile.”

Mrs Dowling was initially pleased with the treatment (Image: Dental Law Partnership) However, after multiple problems with the veneers, where they fell off and required re-gluing on seven different occasions in a short four month period.

Mrs Dowling previously said she had been left with “nightmares” and paranoia about her teeth falling out as a result and had even missed the death of her ill mother after having to travel from her mother’s home in Caerphilly back to Reading for repairs . treatment.

He said: “I was by her side for weeks and I was devastated that I wasn’t by her side because I was traveling for dental treatment.”

Despite initially being assured that the problems would not reoccur, Mrs Dowling continued to have problems with her veneers and was eventually referred to a specialist who explained that she should never have been a candidate for veneers due to her medical history .

Mrs. Dowling experienced many problems with her veneers within a few months (Image: Dental Law Partnership) During that time with the specialist, it was revealed that Mrs Dowling had spent almost 28 hours in the dentist’s chair and spent almost £20,000, including some of the money from her mother’s house.

Caerphilly-based Mrs Dowling approached the Dental Law Partnership in December 2022 after becoming concerned about her experiences and in July 2024 they settled out of court with Mrs Dowling being awarded £15,000.

According to the Dental Law Partnership, they say they believe Ms Dowling’s medical history of acid reflux, high fizzy drink consumption, evidence of tooth surface loss due to erosion and abrasion, her history of bruxism and lack of palatal enamel had not been taken into account. for welding.

They say these issues should have highlighted that veneers “were not a reasonable treatment” for her.

Ms Dowling’s medical history, including her bruxism, suggests she should never have been offered veneers (Image: Dental Law Partnership) Mrs Dowling said the “emotional impact” of her ordeal was almost as bad as the physical condition, leaving her “so scared to eat”, causing her to lose a lot of weight.

According to the Dental Law Partnership, in order to avoid the “suffering and social embarrassment” caused by the veneer ordeal, Ms Dowling should have been offered a “reasonable alternative”, which would have been “no active rehabilitation therapy’, simply measures to address history of acid reflux, fizzy drink consumption and bruxism.

A spokesman for mydentist previously said the care Mrs Dowling received fell short of expectations and they were “deeply sorry” that was not the case in this case.