A WOMAN left in 'excruciating pain' after she was given a poorly-fitted dental implant has been awarded £8,500 in compensation.

Michelle Woods, of Gillingham, was forced to have several soft tissue grafts after receiving treatment from Dr John Barton at Tisbury Dental Centre in Salisbury, Wiltshire between September 2016 and March 2017.

Mrs Woods, 40, who works for the NHS, said the pain was "immediately horrific".

“I had an accident when I was 11 and I lost a front tooth,” Mrs Woods said.

“I’d had a bridge to fill the gap, but it was old and needed replacing, so I went to see Dr Barton to have an implant fitted.

"The consultation began in September 2016 and the actual implant was fitted in February 2017. I then had to go back a few weeks later to have the crown fitted to the implant.

“But as soon as the crown was placed the pain was immediately horrific.

"It looked awful too – I could see in the mirror it looked wrong and didn’t fit properly. I told Dr Barton I wasn’t happy and that the crown was too wide, too short and angled strangely. But he didn’t offer any treatment that would solve the problem.”

The pain was so bad Mrs Woods was unable to sleep.

“My gum was throbbing, it was burning – the pain was unimaginable,” Mrs Woods said.

“I couldn’t sleep or anything, it was awful.”

Upon her return to the dentist, she was prescribed antibiotics.

“He was adamant that I was suffering from an infection,” Mrs Woods said.

“But I knew it was because the crown was twisted.

"I tried to explain this but he wouldn’t listen. I went back again a week later to complain and that’s when Dr Barton removed the crown by drilling it down, which was horrendously painful and took just over an hour.”

Mrs Woods then went to see another dentist. The new dentist immediately informed her that the implant would need several removing and that she would need a soft tissue graft to repair damage done to her gums. The implant was then removed in July 2017, just five months after it was initially fitted.

“When the implant was removed the pain was horrific,” Mrs Woods said.

“Because of the trauma my gums had been through the dentist had to take tissue from my palette and put it over my gum.

"It was excruciating. Following the treatment I had black eyes and a swollen face.

"I couldn’t eat for days and I had to drink through a straw for months afterwards.”

Mrs Woods contacted the Dental Law Partnership. Analysis of her dental records revealed Dr Barton had failed to use reasonable skill and care in the treatment planning and provision of her implant.

He also failed to assess Mrs Woods’ bone quality before fitting the implant and also failed to correctly fit it in her jaw. This led to months of agony and the need for it to be removed.

“I had to have another implant fitted in January 2018 after several soft tissue grafts, and enough time had passed for my mouth to heal,” Mrs Woods said.

“It caused me so much pain. The whole experience was a nightmare. Not to mention I had to take time off work to attend appointments that ended in more agony. I’m now fearful of dentistry and dread any more work.”

Tyla Westhead of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary.

"If the dentist had carried out adequate treatment in the first place, all her problems could have been avoided.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs Woods’ case in 2017. The case was successfully settled in 2019 when the dentists paid £8,500 in an out of court settlement. The dentist did not admit liability.