Caerphilly woman's medical history showed veneers as no option

Tracey Dowling, 58, was originally offered veneer treatment by her dentist, mydentist, in Tilehurst, Reading back in summer 2022 after a series of appointments for treatment.  

She said: “Over June and July 2022 I attended multiple appointments with Dr Hussain to discuss and proceed with veneer treatment, as I wanted to improve my smile.”

Mrs Dowling was originally delighted with the treatment (Image: Dental Law Partnership) However, after suffering from multiple problems with the veneers where they fell off and required re-bonding on seven different occasions over a short period of four months.

Mrs Dowling had previously said that she had been left with “nightmares” and paranoia over her teeth falling out as a result and had even missed the death of her terminally ill mother after having to travel from her mother’s home in Caerphilly back to Reading for repair treatment.

She said: “I had been by her bedside for weeks and was devastated to have not been by her side because I had been travelling for the dental treatment.”

Despite being initially reassured that the issues would not crop up again, Mrs Dowling continued to have issues with her veneers and was eventually referred to a specialist, who explained that she should never have been a candidate for the veneers due to her medical history.

Mrs Dowling had numerous problems with her veneers in just a few short months (Image: Dental Law Partnership) During this time with the specialist, it was revealed that Mrs Dowling had spent nearly 28 hours in the dentist’s chair and spent nearly £20,000, including some of the money from her mother’s house.

Mrs Dowling, based in Caerphilly, approached Dental Law Partnership in December 2022 after feeling concerned about her experiences, and in July 2024, they settled out of court with Mrs Dowling being awarded £15,000.

According to Dental Law Partnership, they say it is Mrs Dowling’s belief that no consideration had been given to her medical history of acid reflux, high fizzy drink consumption, evidence of tooth surface loss due to erosion and attrition, her history of bruxism, and the lack of palatal enamel for bonding.

They say that these issues should have highlighted that veneers were “not a reasonable treatment” for her.

Mrs Dowling's medical history including her bruxism, suggested she should never have been offered veneers (Image: Dental Law Partnership) Mrs Dowling has said that the “emotional impact” of her ordeal had been almost as bad as the physical situation, leaving her “so scared to eat”, resulting in a lot of weight loss.

According to Dental Law Partnership, in order to avoid the “inconvenience and social embarrassment” caused by the veneer ordeal, Mrs Dowling should have been offered a “reasonable alternative option”, which would have been “no active restorative treatment”, just measures to address the history of acid reflux, fizzy drink consumption and bruxism.

A spokesperson for mydentist previously said the care Mrs Dowling received fell below expectations, and they "deeply regret" that this was not the case on this occasion.