Woman awarded £20,000 compensation from Warrington dental practice

Annette Derby experienced poor treatment of five teeth at Warrington Smile Clinic, owned by Smile Clinic UK, which left her with throbbing pain, a popped 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 she was in a lot of pain one of her lower left teeth.

“Despite multiple appointments, the pain continued for nearly a year, and it was so sore when I was eating and biting down,” said Annette.

“They did a root canal in November 2017 but the crown didn’t fit properly, and a few months later I was still in throbbing pain.

“They eventually noted decay on the tooth in March 2018.

“They also spotted decay in four other teeth too, so I had multiple treatments, including fillings and root canals. One of the crowns fell out and when they tried to fix it, it didn’t fit properly again.

“In February 2019, I had ongoing tooth pain in my upper left tooth which kept getting worse.

“It was a throbbing pain at night, and I couldn’t sleep. I also couldn’t eat properly due to the swelling and every time I chewed it was painful.

“I was constantly taking painkillers, but nothing worked.

“I requested a hospital referral for treatment and kept chasing but never heard back.

“Finally, a few months later, in June, the clinic started root canal treatment on it, but a week later my gum started to swell with an abscess.”

(Image: Supplied)

Annette’s abscess then popped, resulting in yellow pus oozing out of her gum and her face swelling up.

She said the clinic was ‘really slow’ at acting on this and took months to finish the treatment.

It was then completed in September but Annette said that prior to this it ruined two holidays for her as she had to come home early due to being in so much pain.

She added: “A couple of months later the tooth broke and I just didn’t trust the clinic anymore, so I went to a private clinic instead.

“My teeth were such a mess and I felt so embarrassed, but they did a thorough check to sort it out.

“They extracted one of my teeth as the decay had progressed so much

“I changed dental practice after that who noted issues on multiple teeth as the decay wasn’t treated properly, and I had to get a second tooth extracted.”

Frustrated with the experiences she had gone through, Annette contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021.

Further analysis revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Annette received at the clinic.

This included the failure to diagnose and treat decay as well as poor treatment across five teeth, multiple restorative treatments and the loss of two teeth, all of which could have been avoided.

“Six years later, I’m still having treatment and will lose further teeth,” Annette said.

Untreated decay in the upper left molar (Image: Supplied)

“I wish I’d never gone to them in the first place and continued getting private treatment.”

Nicholas Hampson of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The distress and pain our client has 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 Ms 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.