Decision Report 201508200

Summary

Mrs C complained about the treatment provided by her dentist. Mrs C said the treatment she received was unsatisfactory and as a result she had been left with problems with her teeth for which she held the practice responsible. Mrs C had attended four appointments with the dentist for the fitting of a new crown and as she was suffering discomfort from a bridge which had previously been fitted.

We took independent advice from a dental adviser who said that there was no evidence that the treatment provided by the dentist was of an unreasonable standard or that it was inadequate. The adviser also said that they did not find any failures in the clinical treatment provided by the dentist. We accepted that advice and did not uphold Mrs C's complaint.

However, the adviser also commented that because Mrs C saw the first dentist with an available appointment whenever she contacted the practice, she was seen and treated by six different dentists in the practice over several months. The adviser said this may have resulted in a failure in communication in that Mrs C was not provided with consistent messages and advice about her treatment, so we made a recommendation about this.

Recommendations

We recommended that the dentist:

• work with other dentists in the practice to give consideration to ensuring that, where a patient is seen and treated by more than one dentist, appropriate processes are in place so that the patient is given consistent messages and advice about their dental treatment.