Student awarded £22,000 after dentists removed two wrong teeth

The botched jobs resulted in the young girl losing a third tooth, all before she turned 16-years-old.

Alisha Khan said she always wanted straight teeth and was told she would need to have several teeth extracted and wear braces in order to achieve her perfect smile.

Now 20, Alisha attended multiple dental appointments at {my}dentist in Blackburn with one dentist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between January 2015 and August 2016, as well as dental examinations.

Alisha's missing teeth (Image: PA)

She was then referred to have her upper right and upper left second premolars extracted by a second dentist, who also cannot be named, in 2018, aged 15.

It is believed the dentists are self-employed and are not currently providing services for {my}dentist.

Alisha was treated at {my}dentist, in Railway Road, Blackburn, by the two dentists for a number of her childhood years.

In early 2015, just before her 12th birthday, she said she was referred for orthodontic treatment and examinations began at another practice.

By August 2018, a plan was put in place by the orthodontist, which required the extraction of several teeth, and the first appointment with the second dentist took place on November 19 2018, and the second on December 3 2018.

Alisha said she noticed she had “gaps when she was smiling”, but it was not until weeks later that it was revealed two incorrect teeth had been taken out, leaving Alisha in tears.

Alisha said: “As a 15-year-old your appearance is really important and they just told me the dentist had removed the wrong ones.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen or if it was going to be fixed, or what treatment I would need, so I was really worried and I couldn’t stop crying.

“It was scary. I had visible gaps when I was smiling.

“I was just worrying all the time and I felt like I couldn’t live a normal life.”

Alisha's mouth and braces (Image: PA)

In between these two appointments, in November 2018, Alisha saw the second dentist, complaining of a throbbing pain in a different tooth - the lower left second molar, which came from a failure to treat decay - which kept her awake at night.

A diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis – when the inner pulp portion of the tooth becomes inflamed – was made and the tooth was extracted.

After the second extraction appointment with the second dentist on December 3 2018, it was revealed that two of the wrong teeth had been removed – the upper right and upper left first premolars, rather than the upper right and upper left second premolars – and Alisha burst into tears.

“I was in a lot of pain,” Alisha said.

“Some nights I would wake up in the middle of night. I’d have school but my teeth had been hurting all night.”

The 20-year-old law and criminology student, who lives in Manchester, explained that she subsequently had to wear braces for four years, rather than one year, as a result of the incorrect extractions, which “knocked her confidence” significantly and left her “worrying all the time”.

“Every time I went in for an appointment, my orthodontist was telling me that the teeth hadn’t moved how they’d wanted them to, or said, ‘It’s going to be a while’, so I lost hope,” she said.

“I just kept wondering, ‘Is it ever going to be fixed? If so, is it going to be six years? Ten years?’

“It was just horrible because I was only meant to have them on for one year and then they just became my life.”

“I was really self-conscious - you don’t want to have big metal train tracks in your mouth in your 20s,” she said.

For a long time, Alisha questioned whether her teeth would ever be fixed, and she described the situation as “horrible”.

However, after contacting specialist dental negligence solicitors Dental Law Partnership, which took on her case in 2021, she has been awarded £22,000 compensation by the two dentists in an out-of-court settlement. The dentists involved did not admit liability.

Alisha now (Image: PA)

Alisha said: “I was happy that something had come of it, given everything I’d been through.

“I feel happy and better in myself and I’m planning to put the money into my savings so I can hopefully buy a house when I finish university.”

Alisha contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021 and further analysis of her records revealed the significant extent of the remedial work she required.

Dental Law Partnership said that, had the correct teeth been extracted and the decay diagnosed and treated earlier, Alisha’s orthodontic work could have been completed within 18 to 24 months and no unnecessary teeth would have been lost.

Instead, it said Alisha faced years of expensive dental treatment.

“I was only meant to have the braces on for a year but that year turned into four years,” Alisha explained.

“I recently opted to have them taken off because I couldn’t deal with it any longer; I’d just had enough of having them on and everything to do with them.

“I’m 20 and I don’t really want to have metal braces when I’m 20.”

She now wears a retainer, and she said she feels “better in herself, confidence-wise” and “happy again”.

Alisha's mouth and teeth (Image: PA)

The case was successfully settled in March 2023 when Alisha was paid £22,000 in an out-of-court settlement, although the dentists involved did not admit liability.

While Alisha wishes the whole thing never happened, she said she is pleased “it wasn’t brushed under the carpet” and there has been a positive outcome.

“It’s been a long and stressful journey, and while I wish it had never happened, it was worth it,” she said.

A spokesperson for {my}dentist said: “We would like to apologise for the experience Alisha has had. Providing the highest quality dental care to our patients is our first priority and we’re disappointed that on this rare occasion it fell below our expectations.”