Burton-upon-Trent woman’s teeth ‘butchered’ by dentist
A woman who spent her life savings on dental implants which had to be removed feels “butchered” by the dentist.
Jackie Stokes, from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, spent £9,500 on getting implants fitted in Hungary after her NHS dentist of 30 years went private and she could not afford the fees.
But the procedures went resulted in crippling pain, blisters, stitches falling out and the implants shifting. Mrs Stokes said the experience has “left me feeling as if I have been butchered, physically assaulted and robbed of my life savings.”
Dr Zsolt Csillag, the dentist working at the Forest and Ray Medical Care Group in London, had advised Mrs Stokes to have three procedures in London and two in Budapest.
Whilst in Budapest in 2012, Mrs Stokes had implants in her upper jaw and crowns on eight teeth in her lower jaw. The following year she returned to Hungary, but was left with a ‘bulldog bite’ – a gap between her gums and upper teeth through which food would seep – and the implants then failed and were removed.
Mrs Stokes, who now has to wear uncomfortable dentures called the experience “a nightmare”, saying that “This entire episode is indelibly etched upon my brain. It’s ruined my life.”
Over a two-and-a-half-year period, Mrs Stokes made eight visits to London, two to Budapest and then seventeen trips to London to try to repair the damage. But she still needs eight implants as well as cosmetic work, and has been quoted £25,000 to fix her smile.
The General Dental Council stated that Dr Csillag should not have put crowns on her eight lower teeth because they were healthy, and gave the dentist a one-year supervision order by the General Dental Council. However, the restrictions placed on Dr Csillag can only be imposed when he is working in the United Kingdom.
