Patient's £6k payout after surgical procedure at Great Barr Dental Practice 'left him screaming in pain'

Harvinder Chahal said he will not be returning to a dentist following the experience

A dental patient said he would rather let his teeth 'fall out' before having more treatment after alleging a surgical procedure left him 'screaming in pain'. Harvinder Chahal agreed a no-fault out-of-court settlement of £6,000 from The Great Barr Dental Practice following visits to the practice in 2022.

The 30-year-old, previously diagnosed with gum disease, visited the Walsall Road surgery concerned about a fractured tooth. Mr Chahal said it caused him to have difficulty eating.

He alleged a dentist told him he could either have root canal treatment, or have the decaying tooth extracted. "I decided to have it removed as the tooth was at the back of my mouth," said the hospital porter, from Handsworth Wood.

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But Mr Chahal claimed his dentist, Dr Sahdia Chaudary, displaced his tooth root into his sinuses when extracting it. This caused him symptoms including painful headaches and intense facial pressure, he said. He claimed he eventually needed surgery.

Mr Chahal claimed: "When extracting the tooth, Dr Chaudary was unable to get all the roots of the tooth out. As the tooth was cracked, she took over 20 minutes to get the last root out.

"As it was so close to my sinus, she decided to leave it in there and told me it wouldn’t be a problem. I left the appointment with instructions not to sneeze, blow my nose, smoke or drink alcohol for 24 hours and then it would be fine - but she was wrong.

“For a few weeks after my tooth was sore and inflamed, and I had radiating pain even after taking painkillers. Alongside that, my mouth and nose were gushing out green discharge and pus - causing a horrible smell in my nose and taste in my mouth.

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"It still hadn’t improved a month later so I was referred to the hospital I worked at. I then started getting sinus headaches with pain in my forehead and pressure around my eyes. It got so bad I would scream in pain while clutching my forehead.”

Dr Chaudary, via organisation Medical Protection, said she did not agree with the patient's account when approached by BirminghamLive - citing she was not in a position to comment due to patient confidentiality. "I always strive to provide the very best care for all my patients," she said.

Mr Chahal accepted a £6,000 settlement in damages with Dr Chaudary not admitting any liability. "That is accurate," a spokesperson told us.

Mr Chahal claimed: "I was off work all the time due to the pain, and the antibiotics prescribed gave me stomach pains. My wife and I had just had a baby at the time too, so it was a struggle to balance it all, and it affected my relationship.

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"I had to undergo an endoscopic sinus surgery and septoplasty to retrieve the displaced root which involved putting a tube up my nose, opening my sinuses up and washing the root out. It was a three-hour surgery under anaesthetic that had a three month recovery time.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Mr Chahal’s case in August 2022. It was successfully settled in June 2024 when Mr Chahal was paid the sum in an out-of-court settlement.

Mr Chahal added: “It was crazy how it went from dental issues to more serious sinus issues. It’s completely put me off going to the dentist. I’d rather let my teeth all fall out than go back to a dentist again.”

Dr Chaudary, via Medical Protection, said: "While I do not agree with the patient’s account, I'm not in a position to provide details of their treatment or management because of my professional duty to protect the confidentiality of my patients. I have and always strive to provide the very best care for all my patients.”