Tracey Dowling left ‘too scared to eat’ after dental treatment she claims was inappropriate
A woman said she was “over the moon” to be given her dream smile, only to end up with a nightmare when her veneers started falling out. Tracey Dowling, a teacher from Caerphilly, approached the myodontist for veneer treatment to improve her smile, but claimed the procedure led to her developing paranoia and nightmares.
After having six veneers fitted at the Reading-based practice, she initially felt “over the moon” and “loved” the way she looked. However, he claims that weeks later one of the veneers fell off. The teacher said she had replaced the veneer and “didn’t think much of it”, however in the following weeks, she claimed her veneers fell off “several times” – Wales Online reports.
Tracey contacted an independent specialist who informed her that she “should never have been a candidate for veneers”. Tracey claims the specialist told her she would need multiple crowns on her teeth where the veneers had fallen off.
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To get her teeth fixed, Tracey claims she had to use money from her late mother’s house to cover the costs. Tracey said: “The recovery treatment took months.
“We’ve worked out that I’ve spent over 28 hours in the dentist’s chair with my specialist. The treatment cost me nearly £20,000 and I’ve had to use some of the income from my mum’s house to cover the costs.”
She contacted the Dental Law Partnership, who analyzed her dental records. According to the company, a review of the records showed that “Ms. Dowling should never have been offered veneers because of her dental history.”
In addition, the company said that “alternative treatment could have been provided from the outset, which could have avoided all the inconvenience, disruption and significant remedial work.”
Tracey added: “Apart from the physical disruption to my life that this whole process has caused, the emotional impact has been the worst. I was so scared to eat because I was worried about swallowing the veneers in case they burst. I lost a lot of weight as a result and I would also have regular nightmares about my teeth falling out.”
The dispute was resolved in July 2024 when Tracey accepted an out-of-court settlement of £15,000 despite the dentist not admitting liability.
A mydentist spokesman said the care Tracey received was below expectations. They said: “Providing the highest quality dental care to our patients is our first priority and we are deeply sorry that, on this rare occasion, it fell short of our expectations.”
