A DENTIST from Cirencester left a woman in fear and pain after accidentally snapping off a drill in her mouth during a routine root canal treatment.

Alison Southwood, 44, who used to live in the town was left with a 8mm fragment of dental drill lodged in her jaw bone after a complication at Genix Healthcare in Dugdale Road.

Her dentist Dr Meena Aduma claimed that the fractured instrument was ‘a non-negligent complication’ and Alison was told not to worry because ‘it happens all the time’.

However, the sales and innovation manager successfully sued the dental surgery after a 16 month legal battle and received £5,500 compensation for the tooth to be extracted and replaced with an implant.

Speaking of her experience in the dentist's chair Alison, who now lives in Leamington Spa, said: "I immediately knew something was wrong. My mouth was numbed so I couldn’t feel it when the drill snapped off, but a hush descended on the room while the dentist and dental nurse exchanged worried glances between each other before shuffling out for a private discussion.

"When they came back, Dr Aduma explained what had happened and that there was no way to remove the drill, so they were going to simply fill in the hole and send me home.

"I was in shock, just going through the motions and letting them get on with treatment so I could get out of there as soon as possible. When I finally left the chair, clearly visibly shaken, another dentist at the practice tried to calm me down, telling me not to worry, that it happens all the time – they just usually don’t tell the patients! I didn’t know what to say. I was totally dumbfounded.

"The drill was lodged so near my nerve that there was a major concern that removing it would lead to a loss of sensation in my jaw, tongue and lip."

She was helped to sue the dental surgery by negligence solicitors the Dental Law Partnership. Senior solicitor Tim Armitage said: "Root canal treatments are carried out routinely and without incident every day.

"Alison’s dentist failed to use reasonable care and skill to ensure the instrumentation was confined to the tooth root canal only and to avoid perforation into the bone. X-rays taken after the treatment confirmed that the instrument extended 8mm beyond the base of the tooth.

"Dr Aduma is a fully qualified NHS dentist, with the appropriate level of training and experience that should have ensured this situation never occurred. In my opinion, a trauma like this is a clear case of negligence."

Following the procedure, Alison was left with a painful and rotting tooth for more than six months. Although her tooth has now been removed, she will have to undergo another six to nine months of remedial treatment, while also having to accept the gap in her smile until she gets a replacement tooth fitted.

The settlement money Alison received just covers the cost of her specialist appointments and the fitting of her implant.

"I’m not looking forward to having the implant fitted – I know it will be painful – but hopefully once it’s complete, I can put this nightmare behind me. Whatever happens, I know that I will never be able to get back in the dentist’s chair for another root canal treatment and hope to avoid ever having to go through anything like this again."

Genix Healthcare did not wish to comment on the incident.