Yahoo News 'I was left in agony after a botched root canal procedure'
A man from Chorley has been awarded £2,000 after being left in agony following a botched procedure.
Paul Ripley, a 53-year-old mechanical engineer from Chorley, Lancashire has been awarded £2,000 by his former long-term dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership. The payment was awarded after a failed root canal treatment caused repeated infections. He now requires further costly remedial treatment.
Mr Ripley was a patient of Dr Shireen Sabir at The Oaks Dental Practice in Chorley. Although the practice has made a settlement it did not accept liability.
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“In February 2021, I made an appointment with Dr Sabir as my tooth was in a lot of pain, after a previous filling damaged the nerve and made the tooth very sensitive,” Mr Ripley recalled.
“I was advised that the tooth would calm down but it was still tender and sensitive and didn’t feel right. As a result, I decided to get a root canal done on the tooth a couple of months later.”
“Over a year after Dr Sabir did the root canal, in September 2022 the tooth started to feel uncomfortable again. A white pimple appeared on my jaw next to where the tooth was, but this eventually went away,” Mr Ripley explained.
“Five months later the pimple came back again, which was found to be an abscess by another dentist, and I was given antibiotics. Then in May 2023 when it came back again and I was diagnosed with an infection in my lower left mouth, I was told that the root canal had failed.”
“The practice dismissed the failed root canal by saying ‘these things happen’ and said they didn’t have the best equipment to rectify it so I’d have to go elsewhere to get the root canal re-done,” Mr Ripley recalled.
“At that point the abscess was filled with pus which was draining into my mouth. After requesting Dr Sabir to rectify the situation she recommended me to a specialist.
“I now still need to get the tooth rectified so I’m still suffering and in pain. I’m in a constant cycle of repeated infections and abscesses, which then calm down and drains, but then come back again."
Mr Ripley contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2023. Analysis of his records revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Mr Ripley received from Dr Sabir, where the failed root canal caused repeated pain and infection, with the need for future restorative treatment including future repeat root canal treatment and a replacement crown.
“I was disgusted at what Dr Sabir had done. I had a perfectly good tooth that should’ve remained healthy, but she didn’t want to take responsibility for her treatment failing,” Mr Ripley explained.
“I was disappointed that she and the practice dismissed me. If you can’t do a root canal to a decent standard then why would you do it?”
Jennifer Paine of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, his problems could have been avoided.”
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Ripley's case in 2023. The case was successfully settled in June 2024 when Mr Ripley was paid £2,000 in an out of court settlement. The dentist involved did not admit liability.
LancsLive has contacted the Oaks Dental Practice for a comment.
