Lauren Bettencourt, 31, underwent root canal treatment in March 2016 after damaging one of her front teeth
A woman who was left temporarily paralysed when a dentist burned her mouth with bleach has been awarded £7,000 in compensation.
Lauren Bettencourt, 31, underwent root canal treatment in March 2016 after damaging one of her front teeth.
But during the procedure, her dentist Dr Nihal Vaid cleaned the tooth with bleach hypochlorite solution.
She was left temporarily paralysed as a result of the treatment, in which she also suffered chemical burns.
Lauren said: ‘I didn’t have any concerns about my dentist initially, I hadn’t been a patient of his for very long, but he seemed to be doing a good job.
‘I had no reason not to trust him. I opted for root canal treatment, I dreaded the thought of smiling with my front tooth missing.
‘I wanted the dentist to try and save it. I was really worried. I knew that anaesthetic makes your face a bit puffy but the swelling almost went up to my eye. Something obviously wasn’t right.’
Lauren returned to Dr Vaid that same day complaining of swelling, and he immediately referred her to hospital where she spent the night.
The full-time mother said: ‘I just couldn’t believe what was happening. The swelling and bruising was awful. It was so painful.
‘I couldn’t see out of my left eye and could barely speak properly. I looked in the mirror and I didn’t recognise myself.’
She then attended a review appointment at the hospital a week later, where the clinician informed her that she would make a full recovery.
Analysis of Lauren’s dental records revealed that the swelling and consequent diagnosis was due to Dr Vaid’s poor root canal treatment
Lauren had to return to hospital a week later because there was still some bruising and swelling to her face.
She said: ‘My face felt really numb for a long time and was taking forever to go down. I had a swollen, bruised face and no front tooth and I felt embarrassed.
‘I hated leaving the house because people would just stare.’
Concerned that her recovery was taking a long time, Lauren went to see her GP who referred her to hospital again, this time for a scan.
Lauren said that her face felt ‘really numb for a long time’ and that the swelling took longer than it should have to go down
Lauren’s doctor later told her that some of the nerves in her face had been temporarily paralysed following the treatment at Ponte Health Care in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.
Analysis of Lauren’s dental records revealed that the swelling and consequent diagnosis was due to Dr Vaid’s poor root canal treatment.
Lauren said: ‘I couldn’t believe that what was meant to be a root canal procedure ended up being one of the worst experiences of my life.
‘I completely lost trust in Dr Vaid and even though I am now seeing a new dentist, I am still very nervous about going to his practice.
‘I don’t think I will ever fully trust a dentist again.’
Lauren chose not to complain to the General Dental Council and instead took her case to the Dental Law Partnership.
Christine Salter of the Dental Law Partnership, who represented Lauren when she took legal action, said: ‘What our client went through is completely unnecessary.
‘If the dentist had undertaken the appropriate treatment in the first place all the suffering she experienced could have been avoided.
‘We hope that the compensation she receives goes some way towards paying for the corrective treatment required.’
Dr Nihad Vaid and his team have refused to comment, and do not accept legal responsibility for the incident.
Lauren, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, had her case settled in November 2017 when the dentist paid £7,000 in an out of court settlement.