Decision Report 201706088

Summary

Ms C attended a dental practice for emergency treatment as she was experiencing tooth pain. Ms C complained that the dentist treated the wrong tooth and failed to identify an infection in her wisdom tooth. The practice confirmed that the dentist performed the first stage of a root canal treatment in the tooth that they identified as causing Ms C's pain. They also confirmed that there was no infection present in Ms C's wisdom tooth on the day of her appointment. Ms C was unhappy with this response and brought her complaint to us.

We took independent advice from a dentist and found that Ms C's dentist carried out a thorough assessment of her symptoms. We noted that the dentist treated the tooth that was identified as causing the pain following a series of tests, including an x-ray. We also found no evidence of an infection in the wisdom tooth and, therefore, it was likely that the infection developed after the appointment. We considered that the treatment Ms C received was reasonable and, therefore, we did not uphold her complaint.