£85,000 for patient who lost 10 teeth

When restaurant worker Mauro Mariani developed toothache he had no reason to believe his visit to the dentist would be anything other than routine.

But what followed was a catalogue of disasters as tooth after tooth was removed and extensive root canal and bridge work was undertaken during scores of appointments which left him unable to eat or speak properly.

The father of two from Oakwood has now agreed to accept what is thought to be the largest compensation payout from a dentist with an out-of-court settlement of £85,000 for negligent treatment.

Mr Mariani claims he had 10 teeth removed in four years of work - and almost 150 appointments - with Wimpole Street dentist Allan Sands. In this time he ran up an £11,500 bill for treatment he now believes was unnecessary.

He today told of his anger that Mr Sands was still practising and called for him to be struck off. "I complained to the General Dental Council, but they cleared him without even speaking to me," he said. "They don't know what he did to me or what I went through. I was in constant pain, I couldn't eat or speak properly and when I complained Mr Sands told me I was being fussy."

Mr Mariani, 37, who works in Soho, first went to the Wimpole Street practice complaining of toothache in 1995. He said: "Mr Sands told me it was okay, but within a couple of days I went back because it was really painful."

He says he was then told by Mr Sands, who did not take any X-rays, that the tooth needed to be removed. The dentist then offered to make a bridge to fit a false tooth into the gap which Mr Mariani said he agreed to.

He now claims it was the beginning of a series of failures and negligent acts. He said: "Every time he tried to fit a bridge it would go wrong. He would damage the adjoining tooth, then start root canal work, before saying that tooth needed to be extracted as well."

In November 1999, at which point Mr Mariani had lost three bottom front teeth, four in his upper left gum and three in his upper right, he lost patience. "When I went back to have the final bridge fitted and it didn't fit, I had had enough. I got up from the chair threw the bridge down and demanded my money back. I was just asking for the last £2,500 I had spent and if I'd got that I'd have left it at that."

Mr Mariani claims Mr Sands refused to reimburse him or to hand over his dental notes. He complained to the General Dental Council and contacted The Dental Law Partnership. Mr Mariani has a temporary bridge for his front teeth, but plans to have implants to replace all those missing, which could cost more than £50,000.

He said: "I've been going to another dentist and I'm much better. I can eat, I talk and chew. It might sound like lots of money, but there won't be much left once I've been reimbursed for the £11,500 I spent and paid for implants."

Mr Sands was not available for comment.