ill Fitting Dentures Leading To Dental Negligence Compensation Claims
14th June 2013
Frequently, dental negligence solicitors encounter claimants who have suffered a personal injury due to ill-fitting dentures. Frequently, this causes more than just discomfort – a range of oral health problems can be triggered or exacerbated by badly-fitting dental work, which can lead to pain, suffering and expensive remedial treatment costs.
If you have recently had dental work completed and think you have been the victim of dental negligence, you should go to another dentist to have your teeth looked at, and should speak to medical negligence solicitors to talk about making a clinical negligence claim. You should not attempt to fix the problem yourself, as this can cause serious problems in the future and is likely to make the situation worse.
Dental negligence – what are the symptoms of ill-fitting dentures?
While mild pain is common after dental work, and while a filling or new denture may feel unnatural for a short period of time, in a few weeks it should feel completely normal and almost unnoticeable. If you are suffering from long-lasting, serious pain, there is a good chance that your dentures were incorrectly fitted.
Oral thrush, or candidiasis, is also commonly seen in people who have received badly-fitting dentures due to dental negligence. This condition sees lesions form around the mouth, and while many forms are painless, it can be incredibly unpleasant.
Bleeding and symptoms of gum disease can also occur when dentures have been badly fitted. The dentures can scrape against the side of the mouth or press down against the soft gum tissue. Swelling is common, and when the gum around the denture swells, the pain can become even more severe. Dentures can also wobble in their fittings, slide around, or even fall out, which can leave the mouth particularly vulnerable and lead to gum disease and tooth decay, as people find they are unable to brush their teeth properly.
This form of dental negligence has even been linked to nutritional problems. People with severe oral pain can be reluctant to eat a healthy balanced diet and might purposefully avoid chewy or hard foods, such as apples or fibrous materials. Not only does this seriously worsen their quality of life, it can cause malnutrition and lead to other serious illnesses.
Loose dentures can even result in changes to people’s facial features and can make it painful or difficult for them to smile properly or show other emotions.
As a result, poorly-fitting dentures should not be considered to be a minor annoyance or an insignificant problem. Claimants in dental negligence compensation claims are frequently in a great deal of pain and can be severely stressed. The cost of remedial treatments can vastly surpass the initial cost of having the denture fitted and some oral health problems can persist long after the remedial treatment has been completed.
Is dental negligence always to blame for ill-fitting dentures?
Dentures should remain comfortable and should properly fit the wearer for years. Age causes a person’s gum ridges to contract and denture wearers usually have to get their dentures re-aligned after several years, but dentures or false teeth should remain functional and comfortable for a long period of time. Furthermore, dentists should be able to spot the signs of ill-fitting dentures and should advise their patients about this problem and propose methods to resolve it.
Denture wearers must also care for their dentures properly. This will involve regular tooth brushing, which removes plaque and food, and careful care of the dentures overnight. When people are not wearing their teeth, they should be placed in warm water or a denture solution as recommended by the person who fitted the dentures.
Some people choose to repair their dentures themselves, but this is not usually recommended. The products in over-the-counter denture repair solutions can often be harmful to teeth and to the human body, and unskilled people do not have the knowledge required to properly repair any problems with their dentures. In many cases, ill-fitting dentures are actually due to errors made by the patient and are not actually due to medical negligence by dentists.
However, dental negligence can still occur when people are not properly informed about how to care for their dentures after they have been put in.
If you believe you have ill-fitting dentures due to dental negligence and think this problem has caused you pain, you should speak to medical negligence solicitors so you can claim for compensation. Legal experts will be able to advise you on how to resolve the problem and how you can fund any remedial treatment and will give you the best possible chance of succeeding in your personal injury compensation claim.