Dental Bridge Negligence Claims Solicitors in Manchester

• The dentist responsible for your dental bridge carried out the work in a way which breached their duty of care to you as a patient. This means that the work they did fell below the standards you’d expect from a qualified professional. 
• As a direct result of the negligent work carried out on your dental bridge by your dentist you have suffered harm which would not have occurred if the work had been done properly. 

Examples of the impact of negligent dental bridge work could include any or all of the following:

• Pain and discomfort
• Poor and unappealing aesthetics 
• Food trapped around the bridge itself leading to decay and other dental health problems 
• Nerve damage within the mouth 

As a result of the problems caused by poor dental bridge work you could suffer physical and psychological distress as well as being impacted financially by factors such as having to take time off work or pay for expensive treatment to put things right. The negative impact of badly performed dental bridge work will form the basis of your dental bridge negligence claim.

As soon as you opt to make a claim with the expert team at TJL we’ll set about pulling together the evidence needed to prove negligence, and we can do this whether you come to us with your own evidence or not. 

The evidence for a dental bridge negligence claim will include the following:

• Your dental records, particularly those from immediately before and after the dental bridge work was carried out
• A second opinion from another dentist – you should have your teeth examined by another dentist as soon as you start to think that something may have gone wrong with your dental bridge. As well as creating an official record of the problems your dental bridge work has caused, prompt treatment could help to minimise the damage and discomfort caused by poor dental bridge work. 
• You should keep your own personal record of the impact of your dental bridge treatment, describing any pain and distress caused and explaining how this has stopped you from living your life as you would normally have done. 
• You should take photographs of the poor dental bridge work before it is repaired or replaced. 
• You should keep records relating to any financial impact the negligent dental bridge work has, such as receipts for extra dental treatment or the cost of travelling to and from appointments.

• Abutments – these are the existing teeth which are used as anchors for the bridge itself 
• Pontics – this is the name for the replacement teeth attached to the abutments

Bridge work is often an alternative to a set of dentures when only a few of the patient’s teeth need to be replaced and there are enough healthy teeth in place to act as abutments. The bridge itself can be manufactured from a number of different materials, with ceramic and porcelain solutions creating the most natural and lifelike impression. 

When your dentist creates and fits a bridge for you they should work through the following process: 

• An in-depth examination of your teeth will enable the dentist to decide the best design and material for your bridge. This should include taking x-rays of the existing teeth which will be used as abutments. 
• The tooth or teeth which will act as abutments need to be prepared by being reduced in size to accommodate the bridge which will attach to them. This preparation is generally carried out by the dentist using local anaesthetic. 
• Once the teeth have been prepared in this way the dentist will take an impression of the area. This impression will then be sent away to a dental laboratory. 
• The dental laboratory will use the impression and your dentist’s instructions regarding the material, design and aesthetics required to create the bridge. 
• The bridge is then fitted to your mouth, but this should only happen once the dentist is completely happy that the shade, bite, fit and shape of the bridge are correct. Fitting a bridge without checking details of this kind could lead to a range of complications at a later date.

This period is generally dated from either the date of the dental bridge work or the date on which you became aware that your dentist had been negligent.

There are a few exceptions to this 3 year time limit, such as the following:

• If you were under 18 at the when the dental bridge was fitted then the 3 years will be dated from your 18th birthday to your 21st
• If you lack the ‘mental capacity’ to start a dental bridge negligence claim during the 3 years then the period will start from the date on which you regain capacity

Despite the 3 year limit being in place we always recommend starting a claim as soon as possible after the dental bridge work is carried out. The details of the treatment and the impact it had will still be fresh in your mind, and the sooner you start the claim the sooner you’ll get any compensation you might be entitled to.

We understand that starting a dental bridge negligence claim can seem like a daunting prospect, particularly when you’re busy recovering from the negligent treatment and coming to terms with the way in which you’ve been let down by a dental professional you trusted. We handle the hard work of building a claim on your behalf, and keep things as stress-free as possible by breaking the process down into a series of individual steps:

• We’ll take a detailed statement from you describing the treatment you received from your dentist, the problems you have had with your bridge and the impact of those problems on your life in general
• We’ll arrange an examination carried out by an independent expert. They will then produce a report setting out exactly what was wrong with your bridge, the damage and injury it caused, the prognosis for any recovery and the extent of corrective treatment needed in the future. 
• We’ll bring together the evidence needed to support your dental bridge negligence claim. This evidence could include the following:
  • Photographs of the bridge and the adjoining teeth
  • Statements from people like friends and family who have witnessed the impact the negligent bridge had on you
  • Your dental records from before and after the dental bridge work was carried out 
  • Any medical records related to the negligent bridge, such as pain relief or antibiotics which had to be prescribed as a result of the problems caused by the bridge
  • Details of any therapy or counselling which has been needed to cope with the psychological trauma of the negligent dental treatment
  • Paperwork related to any financial impact the negligent bridge has had. This could include wage slips, bank statements and receipts for any direct expenses.  
• We’ll get in touch with the dentist in question and inform them of your intention to claim compensation. We always work to settle cases through negotiation without having to go to court, and in the majority of dental bridge negligence claims the other party will admit liability at this stage. 
• If the insurers representing the dentist agree to deal with the claim we will negotiate a fair compensation settlement. Our negotiations will be based on the impact the negligent treatment has had on you and our experience of handling similar cases. 

Although we work to settle claims quickly we never settle for anything less than 100% of the compensation we think you’re entitled to. 

• In a small minority of cases it proves impossible to negotiate a fair settlement and the dental bridge negligence claim has to be settled in court. If this happens we will be by your side throughout, offering support and putting your claim forward in the strongest possible terms.