A WOMAN has been awarded £17,500 in an out-of-court settlement from her former dentist after she said a procedure 'stole her smile'.
Barbara Hancox, a 69-year-old former company director, claims she suffered irreparable damage to her mouth following four years of dental treatment.
The dentist agreed to settle the dispute but emphasised he did not accept the facts given by Ms Hancox and did not admit liability.
Ms Hancox began visiting Dr Mehrdad Reyhanifar, who was working as a self-employed clinician at Vital Family Dental Care in Chandler’s Ford, when she moved to the area in 2011. He is no longer there.
She told the Daily Echo: "As far as I was concerned, Dr Reyhanifar was going to be my forever dentist. He seemed like a nice guy and I felt I could trust him."
In 2013, Ms Hancox visited with issues with two crowns.
She added: “Dr Reyhanifar informed me that extraction of two teeth was necessary. I was keen not to have dentures, and so he recommended the best way forward was to insert implants.”
A number of procedures took place over the course of four years.
Ms Hancox will now wear a removable denture for the rest of her life.
In 2018, she sought a second opinion from an implant specialist which led to the Dental Law Partnership taking up her case.
Reflecting on the experience, she said: "This has been a horrible period of my life – I spent years moving from procedure to procedure, being sedated and stitched up and spent much of the time in considerable pain.
"It was also necessary to take several periods off work because I could not even wear the frequently-altered dentures.
"The experience has altered my appearance and, ultimately, Dr Reyhanifar stole my smile and my self-confidence.
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"This awful experience is something I have to deal with for the rest of my life.”
Dr Reyhanifar said: "I would like to make it clear that I do not agree with the facts as conveyed by the Dental Law Partnership, but I cannot provide details of this patient’s treatment and management because of my professional duty to protect the confidentiality of my patients.
"This claim was resolved by way of an out-of-court settlement, with no admission of liability on my part.
"I take pride in providing the highest standards of treatment and care to all my patients, and I have only ever done my best for this patient.”
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