An Exeter tutor has been awarded £5,000 compensation in an out of court settlement after being left with a fear of dentists following alleged ‘dehumanising’ dental treatment that led to years of pain and suffering.
The payment was awarded to Daniel Love was awarded due to claims his dentist failed to diagnose and treat decay, and conducted a poor standard of root canal treatments and tooth extractions. He says it resulted in a loss of income due to being unable to work and ultimately caused him anxiety.
The 47-year-old tutor was a patient of Dr Ruan Kriel at Barnfield Dental Studio in Exeter since 2009 but says over time, he felt the service he was being offered was rushed, and there was a lack of care and attention and dental issues began mounting up.
Daniel Love has been awarded compensation for ‘dehumanising’ dental treatment
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He recalled: “From 2009 to 2021, I suffered pain, swelling, lost fillings and sensitivity in multiple teeth leading to many treatments such as root canals, and tooth extractions. But Dr Kriel didn’t treat me to a high standard.
“At one point in 2012, I had a fistula [when the discharge from an abscess creates pressure and has nowhere else to drain] in my upper right mouth, and in 2015 I had a small lump on my tooth but it was shrugged off by Dr Kriel.
“Another example was in July 2015 when I had a lot of tooth pain in one of my teeth. Dr Kriel decided to extract it, but during the procedure there was a horrendous crack and lots of blood.
“The root elevated and slipped into my sinus. It was a really nerve-wracking scenario, but Dr Kriel just brushed over it and referred me to the hospital.
“It was a ticking time bomb with one thing going wrong after another. It caused so much disruption in my life as I had to take a lot of time off work due to the pain and multiple treatments.
“As I’m self-employed this was incredibly difficult as there’s no one to cover the work. This led to a loss of income.”
Daniel Love’s infected failed root treatment upper right first premolar
(Image: Submitted)
Mr Love claims the ‘final straw’ was in 2021 when he visited Dr Kriel with tooth pain.
He said: “He did half a root canal so I was left with a hollow tooth. For the follow up second part of the root canal, he said they wouldn’t treat NHS patients and put me in touch with a different dentist. I thought enough was enough and ended up going to a different dental practice.”
Frustrated with the experiences he had gone through, Mr Love contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021 which took his case on. Further analysis of his records is said to have revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Mr Love received from Dr Kriel where he failed to diagnose and suitably treat decay, and gave ‘substandard’ treatment in a number of teeth.
It is said to have led to years of multiple treatments such as root canals and tooth extractions, and issues such as displacement of the root in the sinus, which could have allegedly been avoided.
Mr Love said: “The whole experience was stressful and dehumanising. Dentists should treat patients with respect and be held accountable for their standard of treatment.
“I grew up with the assumption that they’ll do a good job, but this experience has undermined my trust in them. I’ve been put off from medical professionals in general now and have a bit of a phobia of it. I’ve also developed anxiety over the experience.”
The case was successfully settled in August 2024 and Mr Love was paid £5,000 The dentist involved did not admit liability.
Nicholas Hampson of the Dental Law Partnership said: “The distress and pain our client has experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, his problems could have been avoided.”
Barnfield Dental Studio is an award-winning dental practice co-owned by dentists Ruan Kriel and Dalene Theunissen. It provides private dental care, oral hygienist services and cosmetic treatment.
Barnfield Dental Studio and Ruan Kriel or Barnfield Dental Studio have declined to make a comment.