West Yorkshire woman awarded £7,750 for 'avoidable' tooth extractions

Ms Jackson had visited Fountain Dental Practice in Morley since childhood, but treatment from Dr. Emmanuel Adedeji Fowode ended up leading to the removal of two teeth and unbearable pain.

Despite not having had any issues with her teeth previously, Ms Jackson had a routine filling to her lower right wisdom tooth in 2021 which caused an immense amount of pain. After returning to the practice, Dr Fowode decided the best course was to remove the tooth entirely.

“After the extraction of my lower right wisdom tooth,” she said, “I had to have two to three weeks off work because I was in so much pain”. Following the tooth’s removal, Ms Jackson was diagnosed with a dry socket infection - a common complication from wisdom tooth removal where a blood clot fails to form properly in the space left by the extracted tooth.

In April 2022 Ms Jackson experienced a second incident at the practice when Dr. Fowode elected to treat pain on a premolar on the other side of her mouth with a poorly-performed root canal.

She explained, "When drilling during my root canal treatment, Dr. Fowode missed two canal pathways. Dr. Fowode said he wouldn't be able to drill all the way down to the root of my tooth due to the shape of the root, which meant he failed to spot two roots and the incorrect drill work caused a fissure. Afterwards, rather worryingly, he said that I might want to see a specialist if I still had pain."

Ms. Jackson continued, "I had always trusted dentists and never had any issues, but this made me question and second-guess what I had been told. I was struggling to eat, and because of the pain from the infection, I had to learn what I could and couldn't eat."

Seeking relief from the ongoing pain, Ms Jackson sought help from a new dentist who has since removed the tooth. She plans to have an implant to fill the gap once the bone has healed.

Analysis of Ms Jackson’s dental records by the Dental Law Partnership - a firm which specialises in dental negligence - found a series of failures in the course of her treatment.

Dr Fowode, and Dr. Maria Cobo Yera and Dr. Kirsty Newham - who examined Ms Jackson - had failed to diagnose and treat decay in Ms Jackson’s wisdom tooth over a two year period. The tooth could have been saved with a simple filling, according to the law firm.

They also argued Dr Fowode failed to diagnose and treat decay in another tooth before providing sub-standard root treatment which led to a second extraction.

The Dental Law Partnership took on Ms Jackson’s case in 2021. The case was successfully settled in July 2023 when Ms Jackson was paid £7,750 in an out of court settlement. Dr. Fowode, Dr. Cobo Yera, and Dr. Newham did not admit liability.