Mum, 38, was permanently disfigured by dentist who ‘filled her mouth with bleach during a disastrous routine appointment’

A mother says she was left permanently disfigured after a “disastrous” routine dentist appointment.

Claire Shorrock’s entire face swelled up after a seemingly simple root canal treatment and she was rushed to hospital in “significant distress”.

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It turned out that the dentist forgot to put a preventative guard in the 55-year-old’s mouth before starting the procedure.

This meant that sodium hypochlorite, a type of bleach, filled his mouth and went straight into the tissue.

Claire, a mother and teaching assistant from Fulwood, Lancashire, suffered “extreme pain and swelling” as a result.

She was kept in hospital overnight and then reduced to wearing a Covid mask at home because her children were scared of her deformed face.

The swelling eventually went down and the infection went away, but Claire says her lip has been permanently altered.

She also lost several teeth and was told she may lose several more in the future.

Claire said: “I still have nightmares about my hospital experience and I feel extremely nervous about going to the dentist now.

“The whole experience affected me a lot.

“My lip feels altered every time I speak, my speech has changed, and I am still dealing with several dental issues caused by these mistakes, including the gaps left in my mouth after extractions that will require expensive implants.”

After taking legal action, she was awarded £14,500 in compensation.

Claire was a patient at his Preston practice between 2008 and 2020.

While there, she was treated primarily by two dentists.

“It was my long-term practice and I always made an effort to attend every six months,” Claire said.

She has received several routine treatments over the years, but these have become more frequent in 2019.

“I had persistent problems with one of my upper teeth, where a filling fell out and the replacement crown also failed, and I had regular tooth infections,” she said.

“It started to make me worry about the quality of care I received.”

It was absolutely unbearable and I couldn’t help but scream

Claire Shorock

The following year, her dentist allegedly advised Claire that she needed a root canal to treat a tooth that had decay.

She attended her appointment in October 2020, when the “real dental nightmare” began.

“As soon as the dentist started drilling into my tooth, I was hit with a strong smell of bleach and started to feel a sharp pain in my face,” said Claire.

“It was absolutely unbearable and I couldn’t help but scream.

“The dentist thought I had gone into anaphylactic shock because my face started to swell very quickly and I was taken to hospital in an ambulance.

“I was hospitalized overnight and couldn’t eat because the pain and swelling were so bad.”

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Doctors reportedly established that she had suffered a “severe burn reaction” to the sodium hypochlorite solution the dentist was using.

“The bleach got into my tissue because the required protections and preventive checks were not done,” she said.

“I had to come home the next day with my face still extremely swollen, which was the worst thing ever as my young children, one of whom is autistic, found my face scary and I was reduced to wearing a face mask. Covid at home to hide. the swelling.

“My upper lip remained numb for a few weeks, but after it wore off I was in constant pain from the infection, which left me just eating weight loss shakes.

“My lip has been permanently altered since then.”

‘SIGNIFICANT ANGUISH’

The Dental Law Partnership (DLP) review alleged that a number of dental errors occurred under the care of its two dentists.

The company claims that if Claire’s treatment had been better, the progression of her tooth decay could have been prevented and the “distressing and disastrous” root canal would never have been necessary.

“Additionally, untreated decay led to the loss of two teeth that had to be extracted following this ordeal, and Ms. Shorrock will likely lose at least two more teeth in the future and may require four implants,” Tim Armitage, from DLP, added.

“The significant anguish and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary.

“If the dentists involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, her problems could have been avoided.”

The case was resolved in December 2023 when Claire was awarded £14,500 in an out-of-court settlement.

Neither dentist admitted liability.