hello everyone, sorry it's all gone rather quiet up here. I have had my beautiful healthy teeth ruined by two dentists. I went in for two simple extremely small routine fillings. Both dentists left the old fillings under the new composites fillings resulting in stress fractures. This led to two root canals and crowns. Now I have to have an extraction and implants as one of the root canals has failed. It has totally done my head in, I have been unable to practice, I've felt furious, depressed and terrified. Please read this revealing article about UK dentistry. Be afraid, be very afraid. Visit my dental action site Justice for Victims of UK dentists. Start campaigning to bring about desperately need change. Don't let these bastards get away with messing with our teeth and our health. Please help us to begin the 'tidal wave of litigation' the government and the General Dental Council are dreading.
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*How the cowboy dentists are allowed to ruin our teeth.
The appalling dental work being inflicted on most of the British
population is exposed today by an Observer investigation which has
uncovered evidence that up to 90 per cent of work falls below
international standards.
Whistle-blowing dentists describe it as a 'national scandal', accusing the Government
and the profession of colluding to hide it from the public. Poor quality work means patients are more likely to get further tooth decay, suffer unnecessary pain, incur extra costs and need work redone years earlier than necessary.
Some reputable dentists complain that 'cowboy' dentists are destroying patients' teeth with near impunity, ignored by authorities.
Figures obtained by The Observer show that complaints against dentists have risen sharply, but members of the profession warn that, if the public knew of the scale of shoddy work, it could lead to a tidal wave of litigation.
The Observer reported last week that dentists carry out at least £200 million worth of unnecessary work each year. Today we reveal the appalling standard of the work done:
Of the 1.1 million root fillings done each year, 90 per cent fail to meet standards set by the European Endodontic Society, according to a study by the University of Wales, to be published shortly in a recognised journal. For mandibular pre-molars, only 3 per cent of
root fillings are carried out adequately.
In 42 per cent of cases, dentists left holes in root fillings. In almost 5 per cent of cases, the drilled cavity was left entirely empty with no filling at all. In 1 per cent of cases - an estimated total of 10,000 a year - the dentist has left a shard of his drill or other instrument inside the tooth.
A quarter of people who visit their dentist regularly have such bad gums they fall into the worst category registered by the World Health Organisation, according to a survey, even though 88 per cent of them were told by their dentist there was no cause for concern.
More then four-fifths of crowns don't fit and have gaps of more than half a millimetre, according to a survey by Professor Richard Elderton of Bristol University. Almost half have gaps of more than one millimetre.
Critics argue that the appalling level of most dental work in Britain is due to a system that rewards poor work; an almost complete lack ofquality checking and the near impossibility of having dentists disciplined or struck off.
The study showing that nine out of 10 root fillings are inadequate was carried out two years ago, but has until now only been circulated within the profession. The author, Professor Paul Dummer of the department of Adult Dental Health, University of Wales College of
Medicine, concluded: 'The data demonstrates clearly that the technical quality of rootfillings... fell well below accepted European guidelines.'
Peter Gordziejko, a former dentist who became an assistant principal at a college, said: 'It is a national scandal. The public are completely misled about the quality of NHS dentistry. Up to 90 per cent of people with molar root fillings could potentially sue their dentists. There is a
litigation timebomb.'
The chairman of the general dental services committee of the British Dental Association, Anthony Kravitz, admitted: 'The figures are shocking. But new techniques have been introduced in the last 18 months to improve standards.'
Most dentists blame the problem with root fillings on the fact that NHS charges are just not adequate to cover the amount of time they should take. Elderton said: 'I wouldn't have a root filled on the NHS, and I don't know a dentist who would.'
Many good dentists are outraged by the situation, but fearful of saying so publicly for fear of retribution from colleagues. Those doing NHS work also have a gagging clause in their contract, banning public criticism of NHS treatments. However, one dentist who has practised for 20 years, told The Observer : 'It's a disaster for the public. The worst part is that people are being told they are getting good treatment when they are not. The Government just don't care about quality, they are just happy that so many operations are being done
at such a low cost.
'People are being given loads of cheap fillings which are having to be redone every three years. Do you think dentists redo their own fillings every three years? Of course we don't. They should last 15 years.'
Elderton, who carried out the study showing that four-fifths of crowns don't fit, said: 'It's professional incompetence. All the textbooks say make the crown fit. Otherwise it can lead to decay and gum disease, and the appearance can be affected'.
However, Kravitz insisted the work was competent: 'Research shows that the average length of life of a crown in Britain is 15 years, which is quite good.'
Many dentists complain that the NHS payment system encourages bad practice. One said: 'Many young dentists are arrogant. They work in a piecework situation with virtually no quality checks. They may start out good, but they generally work their way down to the lowest level. If you do two good fillings in the same time it takes to do 10 bad ones, you get more money for the bad ones. What would you end up doing? The bad guys win, and the good guys lose.'
However, the situation is exacerbated by the lack of quality control on
dentists, and the near impossibility of showing malpractice. Elderton said: 'The work is slipshod, but a lot of dentists don't realise they are not that good. Inspections are few and far between; a dentist could go his whole career without an inspection. And who is to say
the people doing the inspections are that smart?'
Kravitz insisted that the problem was being addressed: 'We're all agreed that the quality of care could be improved - just as they could in medicine and law. The techniques are there, but the money isn't.
'I am not going to say there is nothing wrong. We are not shrinking into a trade union shell, saying trust me, I'm a dentist. We are doing things.'
Clinical governance for dentistry - setting standards for the work – is being introduced, as is continuing pro fessional development, helping to make sure dentists remain up to date throughout their careers. The British Dental Association is setting up a 'poor-performers unit' so 'whistle-blowing' dentists can report on rogue colleagues. Quality inspections
have recently been stepped up.
However, it is extremely unlikely that any dentist caught out will be disciplined. Figures disclosed to The Observer show that the number of complaints to the General Dental Council - the official disciplinary body which is made up almost exclusively of dentists - rose from 547 in 1996 to 782 last year. However, the number of dentists struck off or suspended for a short period rose from just eight in 1996 to 11 last year. 'I am amazed when I read that a dentist did this, that or the other and he was just admonished, not struck off. It'soutrageous,'said Elderton, one of Britain's most respected academic dentists. Even when they are struck off, dentists can easily start practising again.
In 1995, Barry Garrett was struck off for doing huge amounts of unnecessary work on patients and was eventually sued by more than a hundred of them, including a successful prosecution for 'trespass' on the patient. His malpractice was not discovered by inspections, but when he sold his practice on to another dentist. However, Garrett is now legally practising again. 'It's shocking. His patients were damaged psychologically and dentally. It's just awful,' said Elderton.
One practising dentist said: 'The bad guys have nothing to fear. We all know it's so hard to get struck off, the bad guys have no qualms about their work. We should treble the number of inspectors. There's a dentist in the North we know is a rogue. Every aspect of his work is below acceptable standards - all his root canals are rubbish, all his crowns are rubbish, all his fillings are rubbish. We've all reported him to the General Dental Council, but they do nothing, and he's still there five years later.'
The British Dental Association points to its surveys, which show nine in
10 people happy with their dentists. However, Gordziejko said: 'Dentists earn an average of £50,000 and are very cosy. Everyone is happy, including the patient, but there is no way they can monitor the technical quality of the work.
'Patients judge their dentist by whether they are nice and it's pain-free, which is fairly meaningless. As a patient, you have no idea what's going on in your mouth.'
Article
published in the Observer by Antony Browne
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