Annette Derby suffered bad treatment on five teeth at Warrington Smile Clinic, owned by Smile Clinic UK, which left her with throbbing pain, a burst abscess with foul-smelling yellow pus, a swollen face and difficulty eating.
The 39-year-old went to the clinic on Froghall Lane in Bewsey in December 2016 as one of her lower left teeth was very painful.
“Despite many appointments, the pain continued for almost a year and it was so painful when I ate and ate,” said Annette.
“They did a root canal in November 2017, but the crown didn’t fit right, and a few months later I was still in pain.
“They finally noticed tooth decay in March 2018.
“They also found decay in four other teeth, so I had a lot of treatment, including fillings and root canals. One of the rims fell out and when they tried to fix it, it didn’t fit right back together.
“In February 2019, I had a constant toothache in my upper left tooth that was getting worse.
“It was a throbbing pain at night and I couldn’t sleep. I also couldn’t eat properly because of the swelling and every time I chewed it was painful.
“I was constantly taking painkillers, but nothing worked.
“I asked for a referral to hospital for treatment and kept chasing but never heard back.
“Finally, a few months later, in June, the clinic started the root canal treatment, but a week later my gums started to swell with an abscess.”
Annette’s abscess then burst, causing yellow pus to ooze from her gums and her face to swell.
He said the clinic was “very slow” to act on it and it took months to complete the treatment.
It was then completed in September, but Annette said that before that it ruined two holidays as she had to come home early because of so much pain.
He added: “A few months later the tooth broke and I just didn’t trust the clinic anymore so I went to a private clinic.
“My teeth were so bad and I felt so embarrassed, but they did a thorough checkup to sort it out.
“I had one of my teeth pulled out as the decay had progressed so far
“Then I changed dental practices, which saw problems with several teeth as the decay was not properly treated and I had to have a second tooth extracted.”
Frustrated by her experiences, Annette contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021.
Further analysis revealed the extent of poor dental treatment Annette received at the clinic.
This included the failure to diagnose and treat caries as well as poor treatment in five teeth, multiple restorative treatments and the loss of two teeth, which could have been avoided.
“Six years later, I’m still having treatment and will lose more teeth,” Annette said.
“I wish I had never gone to them in the first place and continued to have private treatment.”
Nicholas Hampson of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The anguish and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary.
“If the dentists at the clinic involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, her problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs Derby’s case in 2021.
The case was successfully settled in March 2024 when Ms Derby was paid £20,000 in an out-of-court settlement.
Smile Clinic UK Limited, owner of the practice, did not admit liability.
