Dental Negligence Claims — Compensation
Last reviewed: June 2026 · EA Personal Injury Solicitors
Negligent dental treatment can cause significant pain, damage to teeth and nerves, and the need for expensive corrective work. EA Personal Injury Solicitors handles dental negligence claims on a no win, no fee basis — if the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation.
TL;DR — Quick Summary
Key Points
- Dental negligence applies to both NHS and private dentists
- Nerve injuries, unnecessary extractions and negligent root canal treatment are common claim types
- Corrective dental treatment costs can be a significant element of special damages
- Three-year limitation period from date of treatment or date of knowledge
- No win, no fee — if the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation
Dental Negligence and the Standard of Care
Dentists are regulated healthcare professionals who owe their patients a duty of care. The standard expected is that of the reasonably competent dentist — a practitioner with ordinary skill in the relevant area of dentistry, exercising appropriate care. Where treatment falls below that standard and causes avoidable harm, a dental negligence claim may succeed.
As with all clinical negligence, two elements must be established: breach of duty (the dental care was below the required standard) and causation (the breach caused avoidable harm). Independent expert dental evidence is required to establish both.
Common Types of Dental Negligence
- Wrong tooth extraction — extracting a tooth other than the one clinically indicated
- Unnecessary extraction — removing a tooth that could and should have been saved by restorative treatment
- Nerve damage — injury to the inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve during lower wisdom tooth extraction, causing numbness, pain or altered sensation in the lip, tongue or chin
- Negligent root canal treatment — instrument fracture, failure to access all canals, overfilling causing bone damage, or failing to complete treatment
- Negligent dental implants — poor positioning causing nerve damage, bone damage or implant failure
- Failure to diagnose dental disease — periodontal (gum) disease, caries, oral cancer
- Failure to diagnose oral cancer — with resulting delay in treatment and worse prognosis
- Orthodontic negligence — treatment causing avoidable tooth resorption or other damage
- Failure to refer to a specialist — when the case complexity indicated specialist input
- Failure to take or act on X-rays — leading to missed pathology
Corrective Treatment Costs
Where dental negligence has caused damage to teeth, the cost of restoring or replacing that damage can be a significant element of your claim. Where multiple teeth have been damaged or removed unnecessarily and implants or other prosthetic work is needed, remediation costs can be substantial. Private dental specialist fees are generally recoverable where NHS treatment is not available within a reasonable time or does not provide an adequate remedy.
Nerve Damage Claims
Nerve damage following dental treatment — particularly lower wisdom tooth extraction — can cause permanent altered sensation (paraesthesia) or pain (dysaesthesia) in the lower lip, chin or tongue. Where the damage was caused by negligent surgical technique, or where the risks were not adequately explained and the patient would not have consented had they been aware, a claim may succeed. Independent expert evidence from a specialist in dental nerve injuries is needed.
No Win, No Fee Dental Negligence Claims
We act under a Conditional Fee Agreement. If the claim fails, you pay nothing. If the claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation.