Surrey Patient Left with ’10p Sized’ Hole in Mouth After Dental Failures
A woman from Knaphill has received £35,000 compensation following dental ‘failures’ that left her with a hole in her mouth the size of a 10 pence piece.
Janice Greig, 60, started to experience severe toothache in her upper jaw in 2012. She visited her dentist, Dr Yoon Khee Yoong at the Dental Surgery in Wendron Close.
Mrs Greig said she had a recurring infection that wasn’t getting better. Mr Yoong had provided numerous courses of antibiotics, but to no avail. Mrs Grieg developed an abscess and Dr Yoong referred her to a specialist.
Surprised, Mrs Grieg was unsure why Dr Yoong had waited so long to decide she needed specialist help. She said it was only after meeting the specialist that she was told she would need a surgical procedure at the local hospital.
The specialist told Mrs Grieg that she had a large cyst under a tooth that had been treated before, caused by infection. The cyst had been left untreated for so long that the procedure would be too difficult to be performed at a dental clinic.
Mrs Grieg believes that root canals treated by a previous dentist might not have been cleaned out properly, but in the 20-25 years she’s been seeing Dr Yoong, she feels he should have picked up on this.
The operation required Mrs Grieg to go to Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital. She was told it would take six months for the wound to fully heal and there was no guarantee the infection wouldn’t come back.
In an out of court settlement, Dr Yoong paid £35,000 in compensation. He did not admit liability and since his retirement has said he’s pleased the matter could be concluded.
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