Complaints

We know that our efforts to provide 100% satisfaction with treatment, administration and surroundings will fail occasionally.

We welcome suggestions and comments.

We have an informal complaints system, and will make every effort to resolve any brought to our attention.

In the case of treatment, please bring this to the attention of the dentist as soon as possible, either directly or via the practice manager.
For problems relating to administration, surroundings or staff please bring this to the attention of the practice manager.

If you do not get satisfaction from this informal approach, or you feel that the matter is more serious, you may write confidentially to Ray Steggles who will then

Write to confirm receipt of your complaint, within two working days, unless he is away from the practice, in which case he will respond within two days of return.
Investigate the circumstances
Invite you along for a discussion about the findings and hopefully resolve the complaint
Where the complaint has not been resolved or where you prefer not to discuss the matter, Ray Steggles will write a report of his findings and where possible offer a way of settling the matter to both your and our satisfaction.

Following these internal procedures, if you feel it warrants such action you may follow external procedures via the GDC's Private Complaints system, your solicitor, or seek advice from Citizens Advice Bureau.

A culture of blame

It is unfortunate that there are several pressures from newspapers, advertising, and television conspiring to create the belief that when something doesn't go as planned someone must be at fault.

The mouth and teeth have evolved over millions of years, and most of the mistakes of structure and function have been ironed out by nature. Recently, modern diets, and habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol, have put this natural system under severe strain, changing and increasing the bacterial composition of the mouth, resulting in disease. Some basic preventive actions, such as moderating intake of the worst food and drinks, use of fluoride toothpastes, careful brushing, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol intake helps control the worst. Failure to carry out theses basics leaves the most technically advanced and superb repairs vulnerable to failure. When disease occurs, dentists, in a Canute-like endeavour try to hold back the tide. Unsurprisingly, long-term success is difficult, but the reaction to failure is to apportion the blame on the dentist, who has been doing their best to help maintain the dentition or provide a removable substitute.

More complex approaches used to maintain a near natural appearance and function of the dentition are expensive, whether funded by individuals or the state. The NHS is increasingly shying away from expensive treatment ( and even some basic treatments), and where it is offered this is only after a patient has shown they are preventing disease. In reality, it would take years to prove this, and is a convenient way for the NHS to avoid treating, allowing nature to take its course, with inevitable tooth loss. We offer complex and less expensive options. The least expensive approach is to accept that teeth have become damaged and extract them. It is socially unacceptable for most to walk around with gaps, particularly in the front of the mouth.

So this combination of o blame culture and the social desire to have an expensively maintained good appearance increases the chances of complaints. Growing numbers of complaints increase the cost of legal advice , which feeds through to increasing the cost of treatment.

Causes of Complaints

Usually, the main cause is some communication difficulty, where the patient has some preconceived notion about the result they are looking for and the dentist another. A patient may think there is no risk involved, whilst the dentist feels the risks have been explained and understood. We know that patients remember only a small amount of what is said in the surgery, in some cases because of anxiety, or because of the amount of information they are receiving. In an effort to overcome this, we arrange things so that the receptionist runs through treatment options and risks before appointments are made, giving patients a second opportunity to grasp the information.

If we get it wrong then we have to accept that, but there are occasions when dentists are complained about because of some throw away remark by another dentist who happens to see the patient at some time in the future, or a deliberate prompting by a dentist who is not aware of the facts. These can be a cause of great mischief.

For example a dentist may take a look at an x-ray and say that work isn't up to usual standards. What they failed to realise is there is or was a particular problem at the time, and they wouldn't have been able to do any better in the circumstances.

Should you find yourself in the situation that another dentist makes remarks of this nature, it is important that you don't allow them to carry out further work, until you have had chance to speak with the previous dentist, and ideally let the previous dentist make their own assessment and provide an explanation. If you are not satisfied by the explanation further action can be taken, but if the work has been replaced by the new dentist, who is to know what happened, and how can it be resolved amicably?

It is known that some dentists generate work for themselves by telling new patients that previous work is faulty and must be replaced. Where we examine a new patient, we will not advise replacement of work unless there is disease present.Instead we will watch its performance over the next year or two. Where extreme problems exist, we advise examination by an independent hospital consultant to determine whether further action is necessary, including possibly depriving a dentist of his/her livelihood. This is extremely rare, and has happened on only two occasions over the last 30 years