'As soon as the dentist started drilling, I knew something was deeply wrong'

A patient has been awarded £11,500 from a dental practice after what he describes as 'the worst experience of my life'.

Atif Ahmed, from Moston, sued his dentist of several years, claiming their failure to spot decay led to a string of complications that have left him anxious, depressed and unable to eat properly.

Atif, from Moston, says he first started experiencing pain in his mouth in 2018, and was told he needed a crown and several fillings.

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“I had my X-rays taken and returned the next month for that crown alongside treatment at other teeth, including further fillings," he says. "(But) when [the dentist] drilled the tooth in preparation for the crown, I felt that something was deeply wrong.”

In 2019, Atif’s crown fell out and he returned to the practice for an emergency appointment. The dad was experiencing pain whenever he bit down and had issues with other teeth.

“I went back to the practice and they didn’t even apologise,” he claims. “They just replaced the crown and sent me away.

“I then had to go back a week later and get a tooth I was experiencing issues with extracted, which was an ordeal in itself. I went back to the practice a week later and saw [the dentist] as I was in a lot of pain and my mouth had swollen up but I was reassured that the area where I had my tooth extracted was healing well.

“I was, however, still in pain and five days later returned to the practice to be examined by [the dentist] who informed me that I had an infection and I was sent away with antibiotics. The whole process was so drawn out and I just wanted my tooth problems to go away.”

Around two months later, Atif returned for another