'A funny taste, my teeth went black - what I went through wasn't fair'

A woman who was left with black teeth following a string of dental errors says she tries not to open her mouth when she speaks.

Georgia Creary, from Withington, says she feels “embarrassed” by the state of her smile after poor dental treatment led to decay and infections.

The 58-year-old first went to her dentist with tooth pain in early 2015 and later received root canal treatment.

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But as the months and years went on, the support worker continued to have problems with the same top tooth, saying her issues kept being “pushed down the line” until her next appointment.

Things came to a head in 2021 when the mum was forced to visit an emergency dentist after the tooth broke, leaving her in agony.

During her appointment, she was diagnosed with decay and infection, learning a root canal was required once more.

“By summer 2021, I was experiencing pain in multiple areas and the gum between my lip and nose had started swelling,” she said.

“[The dentist] then diagnosed me with decay in multiple further teeth and I was given a root canal in the original problem tooth for the third time. After this third root canal, I knew something wasn’t right as I started experiencing a constant funny taste in my mouth, and my teeth began to go black.

“I had to attend another emergency appointment at another practice where errors with the root canal treatment were identified.”

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

An investigation revealed multiple dental errors by [the dentist] had led to years of chronic dental pain, infections, and extensive untreated decay.

As a result, Georgia suffered repeat root canal treatments and, due to the irreversible decay, will eventually lose several teeth.

“It’s been two and a half years since I left the practice, and I’m still suffering issues because of ongoing infections as a result of [the dentist’s] errors that require ongoing treatment,” Georgia added.

“I feel really embarrassed about the state of my teeth now and try not to open my mouth when I speak. The pain is pretty constant, and my children notice that my nose is deformed because of the swelling around my top lip. What I went through wasn’t fair.”

Tyla Westhead, of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, many of her problems could have been avoided.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Georgia’s case in 2021. The case was successfully settled in January 2024 when she was paid £9,750 in an out of court settlement. The dentist involved did not admit liability.