A YOUNG woman has spoken of her ‘excruciating’ pain and fear of smiling after 12 years of dental treatment.

Samantha Lofthouse brought a legal claim alleging that the work she had received from three dentists at two practices dating back to 2001 had been negligent.

The claim was not tested at trial, but the dentists have made an out-of-court settlement of £9,000 split between the three.

Dentists Colin Cromie, Richard Wellington and Mrs Sheila Cromie agreed to pay the settlement after the 26-year-old veterinary nurse from Knuzden sought legal help from specialist solicitors, Dental Law Partnership.

The dental negligence firm employed experts who diagnosed her with tooth decay and said she needed fillings, root canal treatments, and crowns.

X-rays revealed pieces of dental file left lodged in her gum.

The dentists deny they were negligent and have not admitted any liability to Miss Lofthouse.

Mr Cromie, who used to practice in Barnoldswick, is an ex-chairman of East Lancashire Local Dental Committee.

Earlier this year Mr Cromie, who now runs Petre Dental in Clayton-le-Moors, lost a claim for unfair dismissal by dental nurse Xara Grogan after she rejected his hug and a kiss.

Miss Lofthouse had been seeing Mr Cromie at the Accrington Road Dental Centre for regular check-ups since she was a little girl.

In 2012, when he moved to Petre Dental, she remained at her original practice under Mr Wellington.

After several fillings by Mr Wellington, Miss Lofthouse became unwell over Christmas, 2012, when a visit to an emergency dentist revealed three abscesses, and Miss Lofthouse reverted to Mr Cromie at his new surgery.

Miss Lofthouse said: “I wasn’t aware that I could simply transfer my dental insurance policy to a new dentist, so I cancelled the existing plan with the intention of starting another.”

In January, 2013, Dr Cromie, after a full examination, said she would require further root canal treatments costing her of more than £1,800.

Miss Lofthouse said: “I was devastated. I was only 24 so the news that my teeth were in such a poor state was really shocking.

“I could not start a new dental insurance plan until all this remedial work was completed. I was facing the prospect of footing this huge bill.”

Mr Cromie then advised Miss Lofthouse to approach Dental Law Partnership to see if there was any basis for a claim for negligence.

The firm discovered evidence its experts believed showed Dr Wellington’s treatment was negligent, but they alleged greater failings in the treatment offered by Dr Cromie prior to 2012 and his root canal treatment in 2013. It was claimed that all three defendants had failed to diagnose the onset of tooth decay.

Miss Lofthouse said: “I was shocked.

“My solicitor advised me to continue my treatment with a new dentist. I was amazed the dentist I had been seeing since my childhood was suspected of being negligent all along.

“The compensation will cover my immediate treatment and corrective treatment like crowns. However, I may well have to have a tooth removed and will not be able to afford an implant.

“I have gone through the pain of having two pieces of the dental file shards removed from my root canal but face another three or four hours to have the final one removed. I just seem to live at the dentist nowadays. It’s really been a traumatic experience.

“Emotionally, it’s been horrendous.

“I used to be really confident but am now really self-conscious when I smile.”

In an interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, Miss Lofthouse said: “The pain was excruciating.

“I have never felt anything like it.

“I am just afraid to smile.”

Mr Wellington confirmed he had paid ‘a small part’ of the settlement but declined to comment further.

He paid £1,000 compensation and Mr and Mrs Cromie paid £8,000 between them, said Dental Law Partnership.

Mrs Cromie declined to comment, saying: “I can’t discuss somebody’s confidential treatment with a third party without their written consent.”

Mr Cromie did not respond to several attempts over three days to contact him at his surgery and by email.

Mr Cromie is a former major in the Royal Army Dental Corps and is a former Ribble area secretary of the British Dental Association.

Mr Owen claimed: “All three defendants failed to diagnose the onset of tooth decay and Dr Colin Cromie didn’t use the correct level of skill and care in the root canal treatments which were often avoidable.”