Portslade woman awarded nearly £10k after root canal ‘went wrong’

Reina Hawkes, from Portslade, went for a routine repeat root canal treatment at Sussex Dental Group in High Street, Portslade.

But Mrs Hawkes said the procedure in 2020 went “drastically wrong” when the dentist, Dr Sebastian, perforated her tooth.

The 57-year-old said: “I was experiencing issues with a tooth where I had a previous root canal performed, so I went to see my family dentist.

“He examined it and prescribed a course of antibiotics. However, I continued to experience pain.”

Two weeks later, Mrs Hawkes had repeat root canal treatment to try to resolve the issue.

Reina Hawkes said she was 'bruised black and blue' after the procedure (Image: Dental Law Partnership)

When she continued to experience discomfort a fortnight later, she returned to see Dr Sebastian for an X-ray.

• READ MORE: Dental nightmare left patient in 'excruciating pain' with part of jaw removed

She said: “Dr Sebastian suggested I have an apicectomy where damaged tissue is removed to try and save the tooth which involved him cutting into my gum. He didn’t explain what the procedure would entail and I’m not sure I would have agreed to it if I did.”

After the procedure, Mrs Hawkes left the practice shaking.

“I had so many injections that I was bruised black and blue,” she said.

“I was in significant pain.”

She said it had been a traumatic experience after the root canal had gone “drastically wrong”.

After the apicectomy, Dr Sebastian suggested that Mrs Hawkes see a specialist.

She said: “He gave me the specialist's contact information and said that he would pay for the treatment. Dr Sebastian then began ringing me at unusual hours, even at 9pm at night, to try to speak to me about my treatment.

“I had put my faith in him and I felt massively let down.”

Perforating root treatment of upper left canine (Image: Dental Law Partnership)

Mrs Hawkes went for a second opinion because she was still in pain, which was when it came to light that Dr Sebastian had perforated her tooth and that it needed to be extracted.

She said: “The tingling in my gums is only just stopping. My tooth turned grey because the nerve died which made me self-conscious. I am now getting the tooth extracted to make room for an implant but have long-lasting dental-related anxiety”.

Mrs Hawkes contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2022.

Analysis of her dental records revealed that if Dr Sebastian had treated her with adequate care, she may have avoided the loss of her tooth and the need for implant replacement.

Rebecca McVety of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had undertaken adequate examinations and provided more appropriate treatment, much of the extensive remedial treatment Mrs Hawkes has had to undergo could have been avoided.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Mrs Hawkes’ case in 2022. The case was successfully settled in August 2023 when Mrs Hawkes was paid £9,250 in an out-of-court settlement.

The dentist involved admitted liability.