Pain-wracked patient's £7,000 payout for dodgy dental work

Lorraine Cuthbert-Hoyle (59) lost her tooth and had her holiday to the Caribbean ruined by the aftermath of the poor treatment she was given at Ivy Cottage Dental Care in Rotherham town centre. 

Not only did dentists Dr Diana Gardner and Dr Nazma Majid fail to deal with the decay at first, they did not remove the root of the tooth properly when it was finally extracted.

After instructing lawyers, Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle eventually agreed the four-figure out-of-court settlement, although the dentists did not admit liability.

“I’d never had any problems with my teeth,” she said. “As far as I knew, bar a few fillings, they were in good condition and I trusted my dentist. 

“So when a filling broke in 2014, I just thought Dr Gardner would fix it with minimal fuss.”

Dr Gardner restored Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle’s filling in April 2014, but only a few weeks’ later she was back in the dentist’s chair.

“After the filling had been restored, something still didn’t feel right,” she said. 

“Food suddenly kept getting trapped around the tooth, for example. 

“I went back to see Dr Gardner and told her. But she assured me nothing was wrong and said I’d be fine.”

The following February, Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle went to see Dr Majid because she was suffering from pain and throbbing at the same tooth. 

The dentist prescribed antibiotics, but advised that one option to stop the pain was to have the tooth extracted. 

She decided to go ahead as she was due to go on holiday, but the surgery did not go to plan leading to a “horrific” extraction.

“It took far longer than anticipated, which meant my anaesthetic had to be topped up,” she said.

“It also meant that I needed medication after the extraction was completed as I had contracted an infection, which caused a terrible allergic reaction.

“My arms and legs were covered in a rash and I was shaking uncontrollably when my husband returned from work.”

Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle flew out for her holiday, but found chewing food painful and spent much of her time worrying about what treatment she faced after she returned home.

Medics at hospital back in the UK confirmed much of the tooth’s root was still there, causing continued toothache.

Investigations by the Dental Law Partnership revealed her tooth decay was clearly visible on X-rays taken as far back as 2012, and the tooth should have been removed then.

To add to that, the eventual removal of the tooth’s root caused Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle facial swelling and bruising.

“I should have been on an incredible holiday in the Caribbean but the pain made it a nightmare,” Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle said. 

“On top of this I feel that I’ve lost my tooth for no reason.”

A spokeswoman for Ivy Cottage Dental Care said: “We are sorry to hear about the pain and suffering suffered by Mrs Cuthbert-Hoyle and are pleased a settlement has been agreed with the dentists concerned, who no longer work at this practice. 

“Our current experienced and enthusiastic team genuinely love what they do and are committed to forging long term partnerships with all of our patients. We cannot comment further because of our duty of patient confidentiality.”