Mum 'permanently disfigured' after dentist visit sees face 'balloon'

A mum says she's been left permanently disfigured after being burnt by bleach during a routine dentist appointment. Claire Shorrock's face ballooned following a seemingly straightforward root canal treatment and she was rushed to hospital in "significant distress".

She was kept in overnight and had to wear a Covid mask when she returned home as her disfigured face scared her young children. It turned out the dentist had failed to put a preventative guard in her mouth before starting the procedure, so sodium hypochlorite filled her mouth and went straight into her tissue. While the swelling eventually cleared, Claire, 38, says her lip has been permanently altered since the incident.

She said: "My young children, one of whom is autistic, found my face terrifying and I was reduced to wearing a Covid mask at home to hide the swelling. My top lip remained numb for a couple of weeks, but once the numbness wore off I was left with constant pain from infection which reduced me to only eating slimming shakes and my lip has been permanently altered since."

Teaching assistant Claire was a patient at her practice in Preston, Lancashire, between 2008 and 2020, where she was primarily treated by two dentists. In 2019, she had persistent issues with one of her upper teeth where a filling fell out and then the replacement crown also failed, and she suffered infections in the tooth. Then in 2020 she was told she needed to have a root canal to treat a tooth where decay had developed.

But she said: “As soon as the dentist started drilling into my tooth, I was hit by an overwhelming bleach smell and started experiencing shooting pain in my face. It was absolutely unbearable and I couldn’t help screaming. The dentist thought I had gone into anaphylactic shock as my face started swelling so quickly and I was sent to hospital in an ambulance.”

Analysis by the Dental Law Partnership (DLP) alleged multiple dental errors had occurred under her two dentist's care. It claimed the tooth would not have decayed as much had the first dentist provided better treatment, avoiding the need for a root canal treatment.

And if the second dentist had used the appropriate guards, Claire's hypochlorite injury and subsequent hospitalisation would have also been avoided. Claire also had to have two teeth taken out due to untreated decay and she may need four implants.

She added: “I still have nightmares about my hospital experience and feel extremely nervous about attending the dentist now. The whole experience has affected me so much.

"I can feel my altered lip every time I talk, my speech has changed and I am still dealing with multiple dental issues, including the gaps left in my mouth following the extractions which will require costly implants.”

Claire took legal action and was awarded £14,500 in an out-of-court settlement. Neither dentist admitted liability.

Tim Armitage of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The significant distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentists involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, her problems could have been avoided.”