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Louise Thomas
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A retired paramedic has received a £50,000 settlement from a dentist after a root canal treatment left him hospitalised for weeks with a missing tooth and a heart infection which may have shortened his life by five years.
Gerry White, 65, who lives in Stockport, Greater Manchester, received £50,000 in February after dental treatment at a Rodericks Dental Partners practice in 2012 resulted in an ongoing abscess that caused infective endocarditis – a potentially fatal inflammation of the heart valves’ lining.
This infection put the father-of-three in hospital for six weeks in November 2017 and left him requiring heart valve replacement surgery in June 2018 – and he was told by doctors his lifespan may be shortened by up to five years as a result.
Specialist dental negligence solicitors, Dental Law Partnership, said its investigations revealed a poorly performed root canal treatment by the dental practice in 2012 was responsible for the life-threatening infection – which also led to a tooth extraction that means Gerry now wears a denture.
The practice said it is not able to comment on the actions or clinical decisions made by any individual self-employed dentist, but it wishes Gerry “a speedy recovery”.
Gerry, who lives with his wife Louise, 66, and has two grandchildren, wants to encourage others not to “leave it” if they suspect something is wrong with their teeth because he feels “lucky” his condition was identified.
“It’s unbelievable that it all started with a little lump above my tooth,” Gerry told PA Real Life.
“I wish something had been done sooner – and it’s knowing that it was avoidable in the first place.
“I didn’t realise there was anything wrong with my heart at the time, so had I not gone to the doctors, it could have been far more serious.”
Speaking about the impact of receiving compensation, he added: “It was amazing, and we’ve been left with a nice amount of money that we’ve put away for the time being.
“We bought one or two things that we’d been promising ourselves, like a new TV, but this means we don’t have to worry about money too much.”
Gerry explained that he had never experienced any major dental problems, other than “overcrowding with his teeth” when he was younger, which led to several extractions.
He later started attending a Rodericks Dental Partners practice and said he was treated regularly between 2009 and 2017.
In 2012, Gerry said he visited the practice for a check-up with a dentist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after discovering a “little lump” on his upper gum and they proceeded with treatment.
Gerry said the dentist gave him a root canal treatment – although he claims the procedure was not explained to him at the time – on one problem, upper incisor tooth.
“I knew (the dentist) was drilling and I’m used to fillings, so I wasn’t too concerned, and the little lump disappeared,” Gerry said.
“As an ex-paramedic in the business of healthcare, I would talk to doctors and nurses and you would trust what they were saying and what they were doing.”
Over the following years, Gerry said he experienced ongoing issues with the abscess in his mouth around the root canal tooth.
“I would experience swelling sometimes and occasionally the abscess would pop which left a foul taste in my mouth,” he said.
“It was a bit of an annoyance, but I didn’t think much of it at the time, as dentists had never seemed too concerned and had told me to keep an eye on it.”
However, in November 2017, Gerry said he suddenly started experiencing pain in his joints and flu-like systems, and he later found himself short of breath and struggling to climb the stairs.
He visited the doctors and was told the haemoglobin levels in his blood were extremely low and he had a temperature of 39.8C, so he was referred to Stepping Hill Hospital for further tests.
He said he was transferred to A&E at Wythenshawe Hospital as he had become extremely short of breath.
“The rest is history,” said Gerry.
“I vividly remember a doctor running tests and asking me how long I’d had a heart murmur for, but as far as I was aware I didn’t have one.
“They eventually found that there was an infection in my blood, and there were lots of signs of infection around this problem tooth in my mouth.
“I was admitted to the hospital on November 17 and didn’t come out for weeks until Christmas Eve – I had the tooth extracted on December 7 and only then my infection began to ease.”
Gerry underwent surgery in June 2018 at Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, to replace one of the valves in his heart due to the infective endocarditis.
“It was scary – I was told it could shorten my life by about five years and I’ll probably need another valve replacing later on,” Gerry said.
After his surgery, Gerry was driving with his wife, Louise, when they heard an advert on the radio about Dental Law Partnership and decided to get in touch.
With the mindset of “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, Gerry did not expect anything to materialise – however, Dental Law Partnership said it made several discoveries.
It said analysis of Gerry’s records revealed the root canal treatment in 2012 had been poorly administered and the dentist had failed to explain the process clearly; the dentist had not used the appropriate safeguards and not cleaned out the tooth properly; and this resulted in a chronic abscess developing over several years, which was left untreated.
This produced the bacteria which led to the infective endocarditis heart infection, all of which could have been avoided, Dental Law Partnership said.
Gerry has been left with a gap in his front teeth as a result of a tooth extraction, which makes him extremely “conscious” of laughing or smiling, and he now wears a denture.
He also takes blood pressure tablets, aspirin and medication to regulate his heartbeat, but is otherwise feeling healthy again.
Dental Law Partnership took on Gerry’s case in 2018 and it was successfully settled in February 2024 when Gerry was paid £50,000 in an out-of-court settlement – although it said the dentist involved did not admit liability.
The dental practice did not confirm whether the dentist is still working at the practice.
Justine Jones, of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “The significant distress, pain, and life-changing consequences our client has experienced were completely unnecessary.
“If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, his significant problems could have been avoided.”
A spokesperson at the practice said: “We are committed to providing clinical excellence and exceptional care for all of our patients.
“Our goal is always to ensure that clinicians are adequately trained and well supported in our practices, so that they can provide the highest quality of dentistry every day.
“We are saddened to hear about this patient’s experience and wish him a speedy recovery.
“Unfortunately, we are not able to comment on the actions or clinical decisions made by any individual self-employed dentist.”
