A WOMAN from Flintshire has received thousands in compensation after inadequate dentistry procedure left her in pain and needing more treatment.

Helen Holbrook-Harris, a shop owner from Buckley, who will receive £14,500 from her local dentist, has been assisted in her claim by specialist dental negligence solicitors The Dental Law Partnership.

The dentist’s failure to perform satisfactory root canal treatment resulted in Miss Holbrook-Harris, 53, needing two teeth extracted as well as future implant treatment.

She visited Dr Pawel Nowak, of Oasis Dental Care in Mold, for regular check-ups between October 2015 and October 2016.

She always believed her teeth were in good health but that turned out not to be the case.

“I was not a patient of Dr Nowak’s for very long but I never had any concerns or reservations,” Miss Holbrook-Harris said. “He seemed polite and friendly to me.

"Much like doctors, you assume that dentists know exactly what they’re doing.”

However, problems began for Miss Holbrook-Harris in February 2016 after a root canal treatment and crown fitting carried out in the months before.

She explained: "A few weeks after I had the crown done I started getting this awful pain in my teeth. It felt tender and sensitive.

"I was surprised as I thought the root canal was supposed to fix that.”

Having visited Dr Nowak complaining about the pain, he performed another root canal treatment on a different tooth.

“I felt a little better as he had actually done something about the pain,” Miss Holbrook-Harris said.

“But he didn’t do anything about the tooth he treated before, which was still really sensitive.

"He didn’t address it so I thought that it wasn’t anything to really worry about.”

In July 2016 Miss Holbrook-Harris went to visit another dentist about implant treatment.

At her appointment she was still complaining of pain and sensitivity.

Upon examination the new dentist informed her that one of her root canal treatments had not been performed correctly and would need to be redone.

He also informed her that she had a chronic infection requiring prompt treatment.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Miss Holbrook-Harris said. “I honestly had no idea that my teeth were that bad.

"The pain and sensitivity were a little concerning but I never expected to hear that my treatment was not done property or that I had an infection.”

At this point Miss Holbrook-Harris contacted The Dental Law Partnership whose staff took up her case in February 2017.

Analysis of her dental records revealed Dr Nowak had failed to perform adequate treatment and to identify and treat chronic infection.

As a result Miss Holbrook-Harris will lose two teeth and require implants in future.

“I was in utter shock,” she said. "I had to take time off of work to go to appointments and I spent hard-earned money to pay for treatment that just made my teeth worse. It’s just so unfair.”

Tyla Westhead of The Dental Law Partnership said: “The distress our client experienced was completely unnecessary.

"If the dentist had provided adequate treatment in the first place, then her dental problems could have been avoided.

"We hope the compensation received helps to pay for the corrective treatment that is now required.”

The case was successfully settled last December when the dentist paid £14,500 in an out-of-court settlement. However, he did not admit liability.

Oasis Dentral Care has since become part of BUPA Dental Care.

A BUPA Dental Care spokesman said: "We work hard to offer the highest quality dental care for all our patients.

"We're sorry we fell short on this occasion.

"This doesn't reflect the high standards we set across our practice."