Decision Report 201608807

Summary

Mrs C attended the dentist for restorative crowning treatment of one of her teeth, having recently completed a course of private orthodontic treatment. Following completion of the crown preparatory work, Mrs C complained that her retainer felt slack and that there was subsequent movement in one of her teeth between then and her re-attending for the crown fitting a week later. The dentist considered that the movement was an orthodontic relapse issue and did not accept liability for the cost of the remedial orthodontic work required. Mrs C complained that there had been no movement prior to the crown preparatory work and that the movement could, therefore, only be attributed to this work.

We took independent dental advice from a general dental practitioner. We found that the treatment provided by the dentist was carried out appropriately and that this could not reasonably be responsible for the movement of Mrs C's tooth. We noted that any movement was likely to have occurred over a period of months, due to orthodontic relapse, rather than the short period of time between the crown preparation and crown fit appointments. We observed that the dentist's notes from an earlier appointment suggested that the tooth in question was not in a stable position and that relapse had already occurred. Therefore, we did not uphold Mrs C's complaint.