Kent dad left looking 'like Elephant Man' after dentist's needle snaps off in mouth

A father, who already had a fear of needles, has been awarded a £17,000 settlement after a dentist's local anaesthetic needle broke off in the back of his mouth, causing him permanent nerve damage. Joe Woollen, 41, a HGV driver and father-of-six from Medway hadn't visited the dentist since he was 13 due to his fear of needles.

However, after suffering from unbearable toothache, he booked an appointment at The Vale Dental Clinic in London in 2021. After seeing Dr Rajarajeshwari Krishnamurthy at the Golders Green practice, he was told that his tooth needed to be removed.

On the day of the extraction, several anaesthesia injections were given to numb his mouth. During the procedure, Joe noticed the dentist and her assistant struggling to find the needle from the syringe.

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An X-ray the following day revealed that the 2.1cm needle was lodged in the soft tissue at the back of his mouth, next to his jaw. This led to an operation under general anaesthetic to remove the needle and extract the tooth.

Joe was left with severe facial swelling, which he described as making him look 'like the Elephant Man', and permanent nerve damage. This means he now dribbles, can't feel the bottom right side of his face and often bites his cheek and lip without realising.

The Dental Law Partnership, specialists in dental negligence claims, secured £17,000 for Joe in an out-of-court settlement in July 2024 after a traumatic experience at the dentist, though the dentist did not admit liability. Recalling the ordeal to PA Real Life, Joe recounted: "I didn’t go to the dentist from the age of 13 because I didn’t like needles, and when I finally did, that happened."

Post-treatment, he suffered severe psychological effects: "Afterwards I was having nightmares for months, literally waking up, sweating and shouting – my missus and kids were scared."

Joe also said, "I just kept waking up thinking I was swallowing needles, it was horrible."

He vowed never to return to a dental practice: "I’m never going back (to the dentist) – I’m done, I’m out."

In 2021, Joe, a father of six who lives with Becky, his 31 year old wife and a swimming teacher, started suffering intense toothaches which led him to desperation as pain relief had no effect.

Explaining his absence from dentistry services, he said, "I’m terrified of needles ... and rightly so," adding that the excruciating discomfort pushed him to make a late-night decision: "I just had unbearable toothache, I was awake for two days, and at midnight on a random Thursday or something, I just booked (an appointment)."

Joe ultimately visited Dr Krishnamurthy at The Vale Dental Clinic, Golders Green, London, for what should have been a standard tooth extraction, following a temporary fix for tooth pain.

Joe recounted a harrowing experience at the dentist's office, where what should have been a routine tooth extraction turned into a nightmare. "She (the dentist) gave me a couple of injections and then she started trying to pull (the tooth) out, but I could still feel all the pain, so they gave me a load of injections," he said.

"It still wasn’t working and then she gave me something called a block anaesthetic injection, and (it felt like) she pushed this needle into the back of my head as hard as she could. It was horrible."

He added that after the injection, the dentist suggested, "When she pulled the syringe out, she put it on the side and she said, ‘Okay, we’ll go outside for 20 minutes and let it take hold’, so I went outside for 20 minutes."

Upon his return, he noticed the dentist and assistant frantically searching for the missing needle from the syringe.

"They couldn’t find the end of the syringe, the needle, and then they were reaching around in my mouth, like a vet was trying to help a cow give birth – that’s how it felt."

The situation escalated when "They had pushed it so far in it had snapped off, and she just sent me home and told me she was going to refer me to an oral surgeon in case it (the needle) was still in my head."

Joe recounted a harrowing experience that began with a routine call to visit A&E and ended in emergency surgery at Queen Victoria Hospital in Crawley. After an X-ray revealed a 2.1cm needle lodged in his gum, he said, "The hospital staff couldn’t believe it; they were literally queueing to look at this X-ray," He shared the staff's reaction: "They were laughing because they’d never seen anything like it. The surgeon said, ‘I can’t believe this is real’."

Despite the initial disbelief, the seriousness of the situation was clear as Joe was told, "But when the surgeon finally called me in, he explained that because there was a foreign object in my head, they were worried about sepsis."

The operation to remove the needle involved over 100 small cuts in his gum and also led to the extraction of the tooth in question. This resulted in severe facial swelling and permanent nerve damage for Joe.

He described the aftermath: "My whole throat and side of my head was swollen up – I looked like the Elephant Man," and added, "I have lost all feeling in my lower jaw... and I dribble now. I bite through my cheek so my mouth’s bleeding and I don’t even notice because I can’t even feel it."

The ordeal has had a profound impact on him: "It has knocked my self-confidence massively."

Following the surgery, Joe was advised by the surgeon to reach out to the Dental Law Partnership. He contacted them in August 2021, and they took on his case shortly thereafter.

The Dental Law Partnership has come forward claiming analysis of Joe's dental records suggested that the dentist could have prevented the incident with more careful execution of the local anaesthetic injection. They also contended that the dentist should have instructed Joe to seek immediate hospital attention, rather than waiting until the next day for extra advice, potentially mitigating the severity of his injuries.

Joe expressed his satisfaction with the settlement amount, indicating he would likely spend it on family vacations and Christmas gifts for his children this year. While Joe shared his irritation that the dentist didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing, he remarked that he is "happy with the decision" and eager to "move on as quickly as possible".

He also mentioned his hopes of not needing further dental work, saying: "I’m just praying to God that I don’t have to have any more work done."

In reply, Dr Krishnamurthy issued a statement asserting: "I would like to make it clear that I do not agree with the facts as conveyed by the Dental Law Partnership, but I cannot provide details of this patient’s treatment and management because of my professional duty to protect the confidentiality of my patients."

Furthermore, she added: "This claim was resolved by way of an out-of-court settlement, with no admission of liability on my part."

She emphasized her commitment to high standards in patient care, stating: "I take pride in providing the highest standards of treatment and care to all my patients, and I have only ever done my best for this patient."

For more details about the Dental Law Partnership and its new tool, which assists individuals in determining if they have a valid dental negligence claim, visit: dentallaw.co.uk/dental-negligence-claims/do-i-have-a-dental-negligence-claim.