A young woman whose botched dental treatment saw her bullied at school has spoken out about her nightmare.
Lucie Welby, 21, now lives with a permanent facial scar after two dentists failed to diagnose her infections and abscesses.
It all started when she began experiencing pain in her tooth at the age of nine – agony so severe it was interrupting her sleep.
Lucie, from Salford, visited the Greater Manchester practice where she was told she had inflammation and was given antibiotics.
But as the pain persisted, Lucie, who had been attending the practice since the age of three, returned to the clinic five months later.
Lucie was then told bacteria was trapped in her tooth and she needed to get it removed.
Lucie in happier times
(Image: Lucie Welby)
In a horrifying turn of events, Lucie says the anaesthetic failed to numb her tooth properly during the extraction because of the size of the abscess.
Recalling crying in pain at the time, Lucie says the procedure was eventually carried out two months later under inhalation sedation.
But the nightmare was far from over. “A couple of months after the extraction, my jaw was still in pain and it was getting worse so I went to the hospital,” she added.
“There was fluid collecting under the skin and it was swelling up but when I visited [the dentist], he just referred me for further investigation.”
Lucie’s abscess continued to grow, eventually causing bleeding, scabbing and discolouration on her face.
Lucie will have the scar for life
(Image: Lucie Welby)
“People at school would call it weird and say, ‘What’s that growing on your face?’” Lucie remembered.
“Mum and dad took me back to the hospital. They told us that I had an infected socket and root. They extracted the tooth next to the one [the dentist] extracted and the swelling got better. However, I’ve been left with a permanent scar on my jaw.
“The scar was big, flaking and discoloured. I didn’t want to put my hair up as it would be on show, but I had to at school. Pupils at my primary school would make fun of me, asking if it was a love bite when I didn’t even know what that was.
“It was so embarrassing and I didn’t know how to react. “It’s a lot for a 10-year old to handle and it was a form of bullying. I thought, is that all people see when they look at me? It was a very difficult time.”
Frustrated with her nightmare ordeal, Lucie contacted the Dental Law Partnership in 2021.
Research showed the extent of the poor dental treatment she had received from two dentists at her practice.
Lucie is now doing much better
(Image: Lucie Welby)
Analysis of her records revealed her chronic infection should’ve been diagnosed as early as September 2012 and she should have undergone root canal treatment to save the tooth.
This has resulted in the loss of an adult tooth, a fistula and consequent scarring, as well as multiple futile hospital visits – all of which could have been avoided.
“People used to say my dental issues were because I ate too many sweets, but I know it wasn’t my fault,” Lucie said. “I now have to live with the consequences as I’ve still got the scar to this day.
“I used to cover the scar up with makeup as much as possible, but now it’s a part of me and my growth as a person. Now people think it’s just a bruise. I’ve learnt to deal with it now and I’ve now got the mindset of ‘every scar has a story’.”
Nicholas Hampson, of the Dental Law Partnership, commented: “The distress and pain our client has experienced at such a young age was completely unnecessary.
“If the dentists involved had provided more satisfactory treatment, her problems could have been avoided.”
Lucie’s case was successfully settled in September 2024 and she was paid £7,000 in an out-of-court settlement. The dentists involved did not admit liability.