Man 'suffered months of agony and struggled to eat' after botched dental work
A man has received £12,000 in compensation after dental errors left him struggling to eat and caused months of agony.
Mazin Karkotli, 34, was a patient at Mile End Dental Clinic in Colchester, Essex, where he was treated by Dr Sayad Houssain Faghany. Mr Karkotli, who lives in Ipswich, Suffolk, moved to the practice in 2019 as it was closer to his workplace. In May of that year, he attended an appointment complaining of broken teeth and deep decay was noted in one of his upper teeth. A few weeks later, a filling was placed in that tooth without any anaesthetic.
Despite this dental treatment, the pain continued and led to Mr Karkotli requiring follow-up visits to the practice. He said: "Over the summer, I kept experiencing pain in my top teeth."
He added: "In August, I attended the practice again and Dr Faghany provided root canal treatment in the adjacent tooth to where the decay had previously been noted.
"However, as the months went on I was still experiencing a lot of pain in my mouth and my teeth had become really sensitive. I was wary that some of the treatment I’d received had felt quite rough, and I hadn’t been given any painkillers or anaesthetic in the process."
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Mr Karkotli visited another practice for a number of emergency appointments in early 2020 due to the pain he was experiencing, Essex Live reports. "The new dentist advised me that the fillings I’d been given were insufficient," he said. "I was going to need further root canal to restore my teeth. I felt cheated that I was essentially having to repeat treatments I’d had previously, incurring double the cost.
“Particularly as we went into Covid lockdown, it was hard to get an appointment and I struggled with the pain my teeth were causing,” Mr Karkotli recalled. “It was really disruptive - I couldn’t eat in those areas of my mouth for months, I was regularly having to take painkillers and it was disrupting my sleep. It was so frustrating knowing nothing could be done about a lot of this during the pandemic."
After contacting the Dental Law Partnership in 2022, analysis showed several errors in diagnosis and treatment planning meant, had the relevant tooth initially diagnosed with decay been treated correctly in the first instance, Mr Karkotli's pain and suffering could have been avoided. Both teeth that were poorly treated and ultimately damaged could have maintained an excellent long-term prognosis, the legal group said.
"When I looked back at the timeline and the number of times teeth were needing to be treated with fillings and root canals, it started to add up that my treatment with Dr Faghany hadn’t been right," Mr Karkotli explained. "It’s taken until the start of this year - over three years from when my issues with these teeth began - for the crowns to be finished and my teeth to be back in a good state."
Rebecca McVety of the Dental Law Partnership commented: "The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided the correct treatment, his problems could have been avoided."
The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Karkotli’s case in 2022. The case was successfully settled in June 2023 when Mr Karkotli was paid £12,500 in an out of court settlement. The dentist involved did not admit liability.
A spokesman for Mile End Dental Clinic told Mirror: "We were surprised to read the recent article regarding a patient, Mr Mazin Karkotli, who received compensation after experiencing dental issues at our clinic, where he was treated by Dr Sayad Houssain Faghany. We feel compelled to clarify our position on this matter and provide a more accurate perspective.
"Dr Sayad Houssain Faghany was a part-time dentist at our clinic, and his employment with us ended two years ago. We were unaware of the claim and settlement involving Mr Karkotli until we read about it in the newspaper. As a clinic with ten dentists, each dentist is responsible for the treatments they perform. In this case, Dr Faghany was responsible for Mr Karkotli's treatment.
"It is important to note that Mr Karkotli's dental treatment extended beyond our clinic. He received treatment partly at our facility and partly at another clinic. Therefore, it is essential to consider the entire course of treatment and the responsibility of multiple dental professionals in his care. We take patient care and satisfaction seriously, and we have never settled any cases and we didn't know about this case until yesterday.
"If we had received a complaint from the patient, we would have promptly addressed it to alleviate his pain and concerns. However, our management never received any complaint.
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"We are committed to providing high-quality dental care and ensuring the well-being of our patients. The news article has unfortunately cast a shadow on our reputation, which we have worked hard to maintain over the last twenty years since we established our clinic.
"While we cannot comment on the specifics of Mr Karkotli's case due to patient confidentiality, we want to assure our patients and the public that we continuously strive for excellence in dental care and prioritize the health and satisfaction of our patients above all else.
"We understand the importance of transparency and accountability in healthcare, and we are committed to investigating any concerns raised by our patients. We will take this opportunity to review our processes and ensure that we continue to provide the best possible care to our patients.
"We appreciate your understanding and hope that this clarification sheds light on our clinic's position in this matter. We remain dedicated to serving our community with the highest standard of dental care."
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