A teenager faces £70,000 in dentistry bills after a dentist damaged her teeth while removing braces.
Morgan Bainbridge, 17, of Biggleswade and her family have been awarded £34,000 in an out-of-court settlement after enamel was removed from her teeth three years ago.
Dr Konstantinos Tzamalas, a locum working at Smiles Orthodontics in Biggleswade, caused such damage that Morgan faces a lifetime of restorative treatment to her teeth.
There is no suggestion that the practice itself was in any way at fault for the mistakes made by Dr Tzamalas, who has not admitted liability.
Morgan’s father Graham said: “Morgan was 14 at the time and she had already had braces fitted for more than 18 months without any problems.
“It was just a routine appointment and we did not realise that anything had gone wrong until we looked at Morgan’s four front teeth when we got home.
“The surfaces of the teeth appeared to be slightly rippled and translucent and they had never looked like that before.”
Morgan was later examined by a different dentist and he confirmed that a significant amount of enamel had been removed from the teeth.
Further inspection by an orthodontist revealed that Morgan had sustained enamel damage to 10 of her upper teeth and five of her lower teeth.
Graham added: “She will now need extensive treatment, including crowns and veneers for the rest of her life.
“We have been awarded a substantial amount but the work Morgan will require will be expensive as it will need to be done periodically. It will probably amount to around £70,000 over a lifetime.
“The crowns and veneers that will be required will need replacing every 10 years and they can cost up to £1,000 per tooth.”
Dr Tzamalas was unavailable for comment.