Data obtained by Medical Negligence Assist (MNA) via Freedom of Information Requests has found that failure and delays in treatment and diagnosis were among the top causes of legal cases lodged against NHS trusts.
Primary injuries included dental damage, nerve damage, burns, scarring and infection.
MNA obtained data from NHS Resolution, the legal arm of the health service, which revealed a total of 321 claims and incidents of medical negligence pertaining to dental care have been lodged against NHS Trusts in the last five years.
Of those, 248 claims were settled with compensation amounting to £4,259,975.
The most common injury leading to a dentistry negligence claim was ‘dental damage’, of which 95 legal cases were settled with damages totalling £1,285,016 between 2019 and 2024.
Across England, 106 NHS trusts have had dentistry medical negligence claims filed against them since 2019 costing an eye-watering £11,164,688 which includes compensation payouts, NHS legal costs, and claimant costs.
There were 92 NHS trusts that had five or less dentistry negligence claims. Between them, they paid out £2,406,279 in damages settling 147 claims.
Claims by region
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has paid out more than any other trust in England for dentistry negligence claims, spending a total of £427,522 settling 12 claims in the last five years.
The highest number of claims and incidents reported to the NHS legal body however, pertained to Birmingham Community Healthcare.
The trust has had 18 incidents of dentistry medical negligence since 2019, with 12 legal claims settled in the last five years to the tune of £160,593.
‘Dental damage’ was the leading cause of dentistry negligence claims lodged against NHS trusts in the last five years.
A total of 130 incidents were logged with 95 legal claims settled with damages amounting to £1,285,016.
‘Unnecessary pain’ resulting from dental medical negligence services, cost the NHS a further £628,217 to settle 49 claims.
A total of 37 claims for nerve damage were settled with compensation totalling £954,928 as well as a further 25 claims for additional or unnecessary operations which resulted in £377,579 paid out in compensation.
Failure and delays in treatment were the most common causes for a claim - of which 63 have been settled to the amount of £976,189 in the last five years.
Others claims included:
- Inappropriate treatment
- Failure to warn or give informed consent
- Operation errors and wrong site surgery
MNA’s investigation also included an analysis of data pertaining to complaints over a five-year period which revealed that across England, record numbers of patients are complaining to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) about poor care, exorbitant fees, and difficulty getting treatment from NHS dental services.
The number of complaints received by the current PHSO, Rebecca Hilsenrath, every year has increased from 1,494 between 2019-2020 to 2,023 in 2024 - a rise of 35 per cent.
The proportion of complaints upheld about NHS dentistry following an investigation stands at an average of 70 per cent - more than any other area of NHS care.
For more information visit https://www.medicalnegligenceassist.co.uk/dental-negligence-claim