Dentist pays £6,000 to patient whose gap teeth became worse
Work ‘entirely avoidable’: claim
A DENTIST in Cosham has settled out of court after ‘things didn’t go as planned’ for a patient whose gap teeth became worse following expensive orthodontic work.
Sarah Shaw, a book keeper in Fareham, has received £6,000 in compensation from Dr Gunter Flatischler at the Cosham Orthodontic Centre, in St John’s Road, Portsmouth, with the dentist not admitting liability.
The 45-year-old said she ‘trusted’ the dentist when he said she could get braces to straighten her teeth.
She said: ‘I had gaps between my front teeth and wanted them closing but thought it was too late to get braces.
‘So when Dr Flatischler said I could have braces to bring my teeth together and straighten them, I was a little surprised. But I trusted he knew what was best for me.’
But instead of developing a perfect smile, the mum-of-two was ‘back at square one’ after the three-year treatment made the gaps worse – and meant she needed two teeth removed.
She said: ‘After wearing the braces for a while, these black triangles began appearing between my teeth and my gums, which I was concerned about as it didn’t look like things were going to plan.
‘I had spent all this money and ended up back at square one. I was eventually in a position to see another dentist about the problem, who ended up extracting two of my teeth to make way for a partial denture, which I was suddenly told I needed.’
In 2017, Sarah contacted the Dental Law Partnership to take a case against the dentist, with the company finding that her dental records showed her gum disease meant her teeth couldn’t withstand braces.
Christopher Dunn, of the
Dental Law Partnership, said: ‘Our client underwent an entirely avoidable course of private orthodontic treatment from which she derived no discernible benefit and which caused her unnecessary pain and suffering.
‘If the dentist had provided appropriate advice in the first place, her problems could have been avoided.’
Sarah was left ‘depressed’ and in pain from the ordeal, with the case taking more than two years to resolve.
She said: ‘I was upset about the appearance of my teeth for years.’
Cosham Orthodontic Centre was approached for comment.
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