Decision Report 201508723

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 an appointment with a dentist in the practice as the post and crown on a canine tooth had fallen out. The dentist had rinsed out the tooth using an antiseptic and re-cemented the post and crown, using a crown and bridge cement. The dentist had also advised Mrs C that a new post and crown should be constructed.

We took independent advice from a dental adviser who said that there was no evidence that the treatment provided by the dentist was inadequate and both the treatment and advice they had provided to Mrs C was reasonable. 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.