Delayed or Missed Diagnosis of Gum Disease

It is the responsibility of any dentist you visit to provide you with teeth and gum health checks that include a look at your periodontal health. Whenever you visit the dentist, your gum health should be assessed alongside that of your teeth. Regular ‘basic periodontal examinations’ should be performed, which entails using a probe to check the pockets between the tooth and the gum.

Once gum disease is found, it is imperative that the correct course of treatment is put in place to prevent it from developing into something more serious, and permanent. If you have experienced misdiagnosis of gum disease or delayed diagnosis of gum disease, it could lead to further complications and you may be entitled to seek dental negligence compensation as a result.

The complications resulting from a delayed gum disease diagnosis include:

• The infection could develop and spread from the gums to the jaw bone, resulting in recession and loss of stability
• Further delayed gum disease diagnosis could lead to the loss of bone in the jaw, significantly increasing the risk tooth loss
• You could lose several teeth within a short period of time

It is vital that gum disease is caught early to prevent the risks associated with further infection, as stated above. If you feel you have suffered delayed diagnosis of gum disease after a visit to your dentist, please seek a second opinion as soon as possible. It can make the difference between retaining teeth or losing teeth it’s the loss of stability rather than infection that causes the tooth loss.

For anyone who has suffered due to delayed gum disease diagnosis, the team at Hampson Hughes are here to ensure that seeking compensation is as simple and stress free as possible.

We help our clients to find a funding model that suits them, often through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), also known as a No Win, No Fee claim. Using a CFA, we are able to recover most of the legal costs from the defendant, with no fees payable by you if the compensation claim is not successful.

As with other forms of dental negligence compensation, there is a time limit on when you can make a claim for compensation relating to your delayed gum disease diagnosis. The limits are currently:

• Three years from the date of the incident where dental negligence occurred
• Three years from the date when you first became aware of the misdiagnosis of gum disease
• If the patient was under the 18 at the time of the incident, three years from their 18^th birthday (however a suitable adult can always bring a claim on their behalf before they reach 18)