World Oral Health Day – 20 March 2023

It’s that time of the year again where we ask everyone to continue raising awareness of the importance of good oral health. It’s something we should be mindful of daily but it’s often something we take for granted. For example, did you know that apparently 25% of adults do not brush their teeth twice a day, and that according to dentalhealth.org, almost 2 in 5 adults don’t go to the dentist regularly – that’s 39% of adults who don’t go! It’s easy to make excuses not to see your dentist or neglect your teeth but on World Oral Health Day, we should consider spending a little bit more time looking after our oral health and improving our overall oral hygiene. Some simple tips include:

– Quitting smoking!

– Flossing regularly

– Brushing your teeth twice a day!

– Attending routine dental appointments

– Visiting a dental hygienist

Do your bit for World Oral Health Day! Start by improving your own oral health and support #WorldOralHealthDay.

Although you may already be doing the above, in some cases your dental practitioner may fail to notice and/or diagnose certain oral conditions. Only recently, Head of our Dental Negligence Team, Naomi Todd, settled a claim for £142,674.20 for delayed diagnosis of oral cancer. Despite regular visits to the dentist, the Defendant failed to investigate the Deceased’s symptoms promptly resulting in the Deceased requiring invasive treatment including chemotherapy which was unfortunately unsuccessful. Following investigations by the General Dental Council (GDC), it was concluded that the Defendant had failed to adequately investigate or diagnose the non- healing of an extraction site and refer the Deceased to an Oral Surgeon as an emergency. Sadly, this resulted in an avoidable delay in diagnosis which had a devastating outcome. £142,674.20 awarded for failing to diagnose cancer of the mouth and refer the Claimant for treatment – Dental Negligence Team

If you have suffered similar injuries or any other negligent dental treatment, please speak with our specialist team today to find out if you are eligible for compensation.