A retired paramedic has received a £50,000 settlement from a dentist after he says a root canal left him in hospital for weeks with a missing tooth and a heart infection that could have shortened his life by five years. Gerry White, 65, who lives in Stockport, Greater Manchester, was awarded £50,000 in February after he says dental work at a dental practice in 2012 resulted in a persistent abscess that caused infective endocarditis – a potentially fatal inflammation of the lining of the heart valves.
He says the infection left the father-of-three in hospital for six weeks in November 2017 and he required heart valve replacement surgery in June 2018, with doctors telling him it could shorten his life by up to five years. Dental negligence specialists Dental Law Partnership claimed their investigations showed 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, meaning Gerry now wears dentures.
The practice said it could not comment on the actions or clinical decisions taken by individual independent dentists, but wished Gerry “a speedy recovery”. Gerry, who lives with his wife Louise, 66, and has two grandchildren, would encourage others not to “leave it” if they suspect something is wrong with their teeth, as he feels “fortunate” that his condition has been diagnosed.
“It’s unbelievable that it all started with a little bump above my tooth,” Gerry told PA Real Life. “I wish something had been done sooner and it’s nice to know that it could have been prevented in the first place.”
“I didn’t realize at that time that there was anything wrong with my heart. If I hadn’t gone to the doctor, it could have been much more serious.”
Speaking about the impact of receiving compensation, he added: “It’s been great, and we’ve had a fair bit of money left over that we’ve put aside for now. We’ve bought one or two things that we promised ourselves, like a new TV, but it means we don’t have to worry too much about money.”
Gerry explained that he had never had any major dental issues, other than “overcrowding of his teeth” when he was younger, which led to several extractions. He later began going to a dental practice and said he had regular treatment between 2009 and 2017.
Gerry said he visited the practice in 2012 for a check-up with a dentist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after discovering a “small lump” on his upper gum and they began treatment. Gerry said the dentist gave him a root canal, although he claims the procedure was not explained to him at the time for one problem, an upper incisor.
“I knew (the dentist) was drilling and I’m used to fillings, so I wasn’t too worried, and the little bump went away,” Gerry said. “As a former paramedic in healthcare, I talked to doctors and nurses and you trusted what they said and what they did.”
Gerry said he had ongoing problems with the abscess in his mouth around the root canal tooth over the next few years. “Sometimes I had swelling and occasionally the abscess would burst, leaving a bad taste in my mouth,” he said.
“It was a bit annoying, but I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. Dentists never really seemed to worry about it and told me to keep an eye on it.”
However, Gerry said that in November 2017 he suddenly started experiencing joint pain and flu-like system symptoms, and he said he later became short of breath and had difficulty climbing stairs. He visited the doctor and was told that his haemoglobin levels were extremely low and he had a temperature of 39.8C, so he was referred to Stepping Hill Hospital for further tests.
Gerry was in hospital for six weeks (Collect/PA Real Life)(
He said he was transferred to AandE at Wythenshawe Hospital after becoming extremely short of breath. “The rest is history,” Gerry said.
“I remember a doctor running tests and asking me how long I had had a heart murmur, and as far as I knew I hadn’t. They eventually discovered that I had an infection in my blood and there were a lot of signs of infection around this problem tooth in my mouth.”
“I was admitted to the hospital on November 17th and didn’t come out until a few weeks later, on Christmas Eve. On December 7th, I had my tooth extracted and only then did the infection start to subside.”
Gerry underwent surgery in June 2018 at Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, to replace one of the valves in his heart due to infective endocarditis. “It was scary. They said it could shorten my life by about five years and I’ll probably need another valve replaced later,” Gerry said.
After his operation, Gerry was driving with his wife Louise when they heard an advert on the radio for Dental Law Partnership and decided to get in touch. With a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” mentality, Gerry didn’t expect anything to happen – but Dental Law Partnership said it had made several discoveries.
They claimed that analysis of Gerry’s records showed that the root canal treatment in 2012 was poorly performed and that the dentist had not explained the process clearly. They also claimed that the dentist had not taken proper precautions and had not cleaned the tooth properly. And they claimed that this resulted in a chronic abscess formation that developed over several years and was left untreated.
This produced the bacteria that led to the infective endocarditis heart infection, all of which could have been prevented, according to the Dental Law Partnership. Gerry says he is left with a gap in his front teeth as a result of a tooth extraction, which makes him extremely “conscious” when laughing or smiling, and he now wears dentures.
Gerry with his two dogs (Collect/PA Real Life)(
He also takes blood pressure tablets, aspirin and medication to regulate his heart rate, but otherwise feels healthy again. Dental Law Partnership took on Gerry’s case in 2018 and it was successfully resolved in February 2024 when Gerry was awarded £50,000 in an out-of-court settlement, although it said the dentist involved had not admitted liability.
The dental practice has not confirmed 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 better treatment, his serious problems could have been avoided.” A spokesperson for the practice said: “We strive to provide clinical excellence and exceptional care to all 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 dentistry every day. We are saddened to hear about this patient’s experience and wish him a speedy recovery.”
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the actions or clinical decisions of individual independent dentists.”
Patients who believe they have been negligent in their dental care can visit: dentallaw.co.uk.
