Advice On Making A Dental Negligence Claim

Last updated 16th September 2025. When claiming for dental negligence against the NHS, you can first raise a complaint against the dental practice itself, through your local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB). While not a requirement to make a claim, raising a complaint can be a good way of getting more information and making your dissatisfaction known. If you are unhappy with the outcome or want to see if you have a case for compensation, you can speak to one of our advisors for a free consultation regarding a potential claim.

Not only do we explain how dental negligence payouts work, but we also explain when and how you could go about claiming dental negligence compensation.

Additionally, we cover No Win No Fee agreements and how the terms offered by our solicitors mean you only pay for their work when you make a successful claim.

Further to this comprehensive guide, you can contact us right now for free advice. Whether you want a clearer idea of dental negligence compensation, we’re here to help.

Use any of these contact routes, which are available on a 24/7 basis, to get started:

• Give us a call on 0161 509 2856.
• Contact us online if you’d like us to call you.
• Click the button below to start a live chat conversation.

Browse Our Guide

1. What Is A Dental Negligence Claim?
2. What Is Considered Negligent Dental Treatment?
3. Can I Claim Against A Private Dentist?
4. Will I Need A Medical Assessment To Make A Dental Negligence Claim?
5. How Much Compensation Could I Receive From A Dental Negligence Claim?
6. Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By Poor Dental Treatment?
7. How Long Do I Have To Make A Dental Negligence Case?
8. How Long Does A Dental Negligence Claim Take?
9. What Is A No Win No Fee Dental Negligence Compensation Claim?
10. Read About Making A Medical Negligence Claim

What Is A Dental Negligence Claim?

A dental negligence claim is the process of seeking compensation for unnecessary suffering caused by a dentist or similar professional providing substandard care.

Dentists are trained healthcare professionals and owe their patients a duty of care. Per their duty, they must provide the minimum expected standard of care when treating their patients. A failure to provide this correct standard is classed as a breach of their duty.

To begin a dental negligence claim, you must show the following:

1. Your dentist owed you a duty of care.
2. The dentist failed to meet this duty by not providing dental care at the correct standard.
3. This failure caused you to experience avoidable harm.

When we specify “avoidable harm,” we mean any harm that you experienced that you would not have had had the correct standard of care been provided.

For a free case assessment, contact our team today using the information given above. 

What Is Considered Negligent Dental Treatment?

Having examined the criteria to make a dental negligence claim, we next need to talk about how a dentist can fall below the correct standard and cause avoidable harm to a patient. We also need to stress this isn’t an exhaustive list, so if your particular circumstances aren’t listed below, you could very well still be eligible to claim.

Examples of how you could be harmed if a dentist is negligent could include:

• A dentist used an anaesthetic you had a known allergy to, and your dentist was aware of. You suffered severe anaphylaxis because of this.
• You were scheduled to have a root canal treatment on one of your teeth. The dentist misread your notes and began the procedure on the wrong tooth. This caused additional damage and prolonged the treatment process.
• Poor hygiene practices at the dental surgery caused you to contract a throat infection due to improperly sterilised tools.
• Mistakes during a tooth extraction caused adjacent teeth to be damaged. The damaged teeth later had to be removed.

For a free assessment to see if you can begin a dental negligence claim, get in touch with our dedicated advisory team using the contact information provided above.  

Can I Claim Against A Private Dentist?

All dentists, whether wholly private or providing NHS services, have the same duty of care. So yes, you can definitely claim against a private dentist. The dental practice will have an internal complaints procedure you can follow, and the private healthcare regulator is different to that of public health services. A private dental practice will have its own insurance policy for handling any claims made against it.

This being said, the dental negligence claims process will be the same regardless of where you received your treatment. 

Will I Need A Medical Assessment To Make A Dental Negligence Claim?

An independent medical assessment is used to determine what harm you have suffered. You could be sent for an evaluation if you choose to pursue your claim with one of our dental negligence solicitors as part of the claims process.

Whether or not an assessment is used in your claim will depend on the facts of your particular case. Our advisors can explain this further.

The importance of sufficient evidence in a dental negligence claim cannot be overstated. As well as showing that the dentist failed to meet their duty of care, you will also be showing the extent of the harm caused. This will help solicitors when calculating potential compensation. We’ll look at this in the next section.

You can find out more about gathering evidence by speaking with our advisors.

How Much Compensation Could I Receive From A Dental Negligence Claim?

Compensation for dental negligence could potentially be split into general and special damages. What this means is:

• Compensation for both the physical harm and psychological impacts caused by the negligent treatment is awarded under general damages.
• Special damages are concerned with the monetary impacts of the harm, and we’ll examine this further in the next section.

Calculating potential compensation is one of the many things our solicitors could assist you with. Those given responsibility for these calculations can refer to medical evidence or look at the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The JCG is a text that contains suggested compensation brackets for various forms of harm. We have compiled a list of these guidelines that may be relevant to dental negligence claims, although the first guideline on the list is not from the document. 

Compensation 

Please take note that these brackets have been included purely as a general guide.

• Multiple instances of very serious harm and financial losses, such as medical bills and therapy – up to £500,000 or higher.
• Very severe facial disfigurement in young claimants with severe psychological effects – £36,340 and £118,790.
• Less severe facial disfigurement that is still substantial and causes a significant psychological reaction – £21,920 to £59,090.
• Significant scarring of the face where the worst effects have been reduced by surgery (or will be), leaving some cosmetic disability, and the psychological impact has diminished or was minor from the outset – between £11,120 and £36,720.
• Less significant scarring of the face, such as a single scar or multiple smaller scars where the appearance is not overly marred – between £4,820 and £16,770.
• Trivial scarring of the face with only minor effects – £2,080 to £4,310.
• Damage to teeth where there is significant chronic pain lasting over a number of years, such as from an abscess that went untreated – up to £46,540.
• The loss of, or serious damage to, multiple front teeth – £10,660 to £13,930.
• The loss of, or serious damage to, 2 front teeth – between £5,310 and £9,310.

Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By Poor Dental Treatment?

A loss of earnings can be compensated under special damages as part of your total compensation payout. Special damages aim to provide you with compensation for the financial costs you’ve experienced as a result of the avoidable harm.

For these reasons, the compensation you receive as special damages is more often than not higher than that paid out for the physical and psychological harm caused. As well as lost earnings, the following costs could be reimbursed as part of your claim:

• Additional dental treatments.
• Prescriptions.
• Care needs.
• Travel expenses.

To claim these costs as part of your compensation, you will have to provide proof. Be sure to keep copies of supportive documents, such as payslips, prescription letters and bills for care to show what losses you incurred. 

These two compensation sections are not guarantees of a payout value. As every claim is assessed individually, we can’t provide specifics here. Just contact us over the phone or online for a personalised assessment of your potential dental negligence claim.

How Long Do I Have To Make A Dental Negligence Case?

Typically, a dental negligence claim needs to be started within 3 years as set out by the Limitation Act 1980. This can be counted from one of two dates:

• The date on which you received the substandard treatment.
• The date you would have been first reasonably expected to connect the harm you suffered with the dentist’s actions. This is referred to as the date of knowledge.

Now, there are two scenarios where the standard 3-year limit does not apply. Children will have this paused until they reach the age of 18. Those lacking sufficient mental capacity will have the 3-year time limit halted entirely. 

In these cases, a parent or other suitable adult may be appointed by the court to act as the injured person’s litigation friend. What this means is they would pursue the claim on the injured party’s behalf.

For further advice on time limits and to see if any exceptions are relevant in your particular circumstances, contact our team today. 

How Long Does A Dental Negligence Claim Take?

There isn’t a precise time for how long a dental negligence claim can take to conclude. They can take any time from a few months to a few years. This is because there are many factors that determine the length of the dental compensation claims process, such as:

• How severe the harm that’s been suffered is. 
• What evidence is required, and how long it takes for all of the evidence to be gathered. 
• How long dental negligence payouts take to calculate. 
• How cooperative the third parties involved are, and how quickly they respond. We might need to liaise with numerous third parties during the dental negligence claims process. For example, external dental experts, the defendant’s insurance company, and Counsels.

If you decide to work with one of our solicitors, you will be kept updated throughout the whole claims process on how the claim is progressing, with more specifics on how long each step could take in your particular case. 

At a time that suits you, please don’t hesitate to have a chat with us about claiming compensation for dental negligence. By getting in touch with us as soon as possible, we could potentially get the ball rolling with starting the claims process.

What Is A No Win No Fee Dental Negligence Compensation Claim?

Our expert solicitors could support you from start to finish when making a dental negligence claim. While you are not required to instruct a solicitor, having an experienced representative will definitely be of use. A solicitor could help you with:

• Calculating compensation.
• Gathering evidence.
• Communicating with the defendant’s legal representatives.
• Ensuring court instructions and deadlines are met.

They offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis under a specific contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This type of contract provides some very desirable features, including:

• No fee to cover the solicitor’s service at the beginning of the claim.
• Also, no solicitor fees during the claims process itself.
• No service fee if the claim fails.

If you win, a small percentage of the compensation will be taken by your solicitor as a success fee. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 caps the percentage, so you know you will get the majority of the compensation you receive.

To get further guidance on claiming compensation for dental negligence or for a free case assessment, contact our advisors using the details provided here:

• Call us any time on 0161 509 2856
• You can also contact us through our website.
• Finally, open our live chat window on your screen and get through to an advisor instantly.

Read About Making A Medical Negligence Claim

You can also read some guides by us concerning medical negligence claims:

• Guidance on whether you could claim if you were given medication you are allergic to.
• Learn how to claim for medical drug errors.
• Overall advice on the medical negligence claims process.

We have also included some external resources with additional information:

• Read the NHS guidance on complaining about dental treatment.
• After negligent dental treatment that causes you to be off work, you may be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Find out more on this government page.
• Read this guidance from the General Dental Council about raising concerns about a dentist.

Thank you for reading this guide to making a dental negligence claim, and please reach out to ask any questions and get your free consultation.