How Much Compensation For Dental Nerve Damage Can I Get?

Whilst visiting the dentist is not always a pleasant experience, it’s reasonable to expect that your treatment should be carried out to the correct standard. However, if you’ve suffered nerve damage due to negligent dental care, you may be unsure about whether you can claim, as you try to recover from your experience. Our advisors are ready to help and show what factors may determine how much compensation for dental nerve damage you could claim.

Key Takeaways

• According to the NHS, 24.8% of patient complaints between 2022 and 2023 were related to dental services.
• The same study shows there were 125,584 primary care complaints for both dental and GP services between the same years.
• Dental nerve damage could cause chronic pain, numbness, burning sensations, and difficulty eating.
• Due to dental nerve damage, you may need further corrective surgery and experience long-term issues with chewing, swallowing, and speaking.
• Nerve damage due to dental negligence could result from wrong tooth extraction, excessive force, a failure to properly assess imaging scans, and anaesthetic errors.

At How Much Compensation, our friendly advisors are available 24/7 to answer questions. Through a free case check, our advisors can carefully assess whether you could be connected with one of the expert No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel to start your claim. With decades of combined experience in dental negligence claims, they will use their knowledge to expertly guide you throughout the process and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Much Compensation For Dental Nerve Damage Can I Get?
2. What Factors Could Affect A General Damages Payout In A Dental Nerve Damage Claim?
3. Can Compensation For Dental Nerve Damage Cover Special Damages?
4. Can I Make A Dental Nerve Damage Compensation Claim?
5. What Dental Negligence Could Lead To Damaged Nerves?
6. What Do I Need To Make A Claim For Dental Nerve Damage Compensation?
7. Get Help From Our Panel Of Solicitors
8. Learn More

How Much Compensation For Dental Nerve Damage Can I Get?

The amount of compensation you could receive for dental nerve damage will be calculated on a case-by-case basis. If your claim is successful, you will be awarded general damages; this aims to compensate any physical and mental pain and suffering you endured.

Your general damages will typically be calculated by a solicitor in line with the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG publication is often used by legal professionals as it contains wide-ranging compensation guidelines for many different types of harm.

All entries in the table below, apart from the  first figure, have been taken from the JCG. Please note that they are merely guidelines and do not guarantee how much you could receive.

Harm	Notes	Compensation Pay-out
Multiple Very Severe Forms of Harm with Financial Loss	Financial impact can cover lost earnings, private dental treatment, and therapy.	Up to £500,000+
Very Severe Facial Scarring	Creating a disfiguring cosmetic effect in young people with a severe psychological reaction.	£36,340 to £118,790
Less Severe Facial Scarring	Cases with substantial disfigurement and a significant psychological reaction.	£21,920 to £59,090
Significant Facial Scarring	Where cosmetic surgery can reduce the worst effects but the psychological reaction is not great	£11,120 to £36,720
Less Significant Facial Scarring	There may be one scar or a group of very small scars, but the overall effect does not markedly affect the appearance	£4,820 to £16,770
Damage to Teeth (i)	Serious damage or a loss to several front teeth.	£10,660 to £13,930
Damage to Teeth (ii)	This will be a loss or serious damage to the two front teeth	£5,310 to £9,310
Damage to Teeth (iii)	A loss of or serious damage to 1 front tooth.	£2,690 to £4,820
Damage to Teeth (iv)	Loss of or damage to back teeth	£1,330 to £2,080

If you’re still wondering how much compensation for dental nerve damage you could receive, please get in touch with our team today for a personalised compensation assessment.

What Factors Could Affect A General Damages Payout In A Dental Nerve Damage Claim?

How severely you are harmed and its impact on your quality of life are just a few factors that could affect a general damages payout in a dental nerve damage claim. Awards for general damages consider many nuances beyond these, including:

• The extent of the nerve damage.
• The length of your recovery period and the presence of any chronic pain.
• Whether there is a cosmetic impact caused by the negligent dental treatment.
• What effect there is on your daily activities and function, such as impaired ability to chew or eat.
• The overall psychological impact, such as PTSD, anxiety, stress, or depression.

Can Compensation For Dental Nerve Damage Cover Special Damages?

Yes, compensation for dental nerve damage can cover special damages, provided that you have evidence to prove the financial impact of the unnecessary harm you suffered. For instance, you may have paid out of pocket for corrective dental treatment to address the impact of the nerve damage you endured.

Please see the following example of special damages you could include in your claim:

• Loss of earnings – if you took time off work due to your nerve damage, you could claim for any current or future lost earnings. Moreover, you can also claim for lost bonuses, overtime pay, and workplace benefits, such as pension schemes.
• Dental expenses – if you sought any private dental treatment due to your nerve damage, you could include these costs in your claim. This can also cover any prescriptions and recommended treatments.
• Therapy – You can also seek compensation for the cost of therapy or counselling.
• Occupational therapy – You may have needed specialist support to learn new ways of eating or swallowing.
• Travel expenses – you could include any fuel costs or public transport expenses from travelling to and from dental appointments due to your harm.

Regardless of the costs you want to be reimbursed for, you’ll need evidence of your losses in order to include them in a claim. This proof can consist of receipts, invoices, payslips, and bank statements.

To learn more about special damages, please contact one of our friendly advisors today.

Can I Make A Dental Nerve Damage Compensation Claim?

Yes, you could make a dental nerve damage claim if you can demonstrate that you suffered unnecessary harm because of substandard care. In doing this, you must clearly show the following:

• A dentist or a dental professional owed you a duty of care
• They failed to meet this obligation
• The breach caused you avoidable harm, such as nerve damage.

This is otherwise known as the principle of negligence. All dental professionals have a duty of care to provide the minimum standard of care expected when treating patients. Moreover, the General Dental Council (GDC) outlines the standards and guidance to help dental professionals adhere to their duty.

You may have questions such as, ‘How do I get started?’ and ‘How much compensation for dental nerve damage could I receive?’ If so, please contact our friendly advisory team for assistance today.

What Dental Negligence Could Lead To Damaged Nerves?

Excessive force, improper technique, and a failure to perform pre-operative imaging scans are just some of the ways that dental negligence could lead to damaged nerves. Here is a more detailed look at some potential examples of dental negligence:

• A dentist performs a wrong tooth extraction after not reading your pre-operative notes, resulting in damage to the surrounding nerves and chronic pain.
• Your dentist uses excessive force when extracting a tooth and fails to assess pre-operative imaging scans for the proximity of the trigeminal nerve. This leaves you with severe facial pain and difficulty eating food.
• During a root canal, your dentist uses an improper technique, causing them to drill too deeply into the infected tooth. This leads to damage to the buccal nerve, resulting in long-term numbness and tingling.
• After misinterpreting pre-op imaging scans, your dentist places an implant in the wrong position. The subsequent damage to the lingual nerve affects your speech and requires extensive corrective surgery.
• A dental assistant doesn’t check whether they are injecting the anaesthetic into the correct location. This results in damage to the infra-orbital nerve, causing facial numbness.

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive, and dental negligence could occur in many circumstances.

What Do I Need To Make A Claim For Dental Nerve Damage Compensation?

To make a claim for dental nerve damage compensation, you’ll need patient records and other evidence providing a clear picture of how substandard dental care caused you avoidable harm. Generally, to support a claim, you’ll need your dental and medical records, including any copies of scan results. You can find out more about using evidence by reading our guide on proving negligence.

Besides having sufficient evidence, you will also need to be mindful that you are starting your claim for dental nerve damage compensation within 3 years of the negligence. This timeframe is set by the Limitation Act 1980 and may also be counted from the date of knowledge, the point at which you became aware of the substandard dental care. For more information on time limits, please see our comprehensive limitation period guide.

If you’d like more personalised advice on time limits and evidence, please don’t hesitate to talk with our advisors. They’d be happy to answer any questions you have and explain how our panel of solicitors can help clients with the task of gathering evidence.

Get Help From Our Panel Of Solicitors

You can get help from our talented panel of No Win No Fee solicitors with gathering evidence, handling paperwork, and communicating with the opposing side. Besides being experts in dental negligence claims, they work diligently to prioritise the health and well-being of every client who has suffered unnecessarily due to substandard care.

Operating under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), our panel of solicitors are committed to providing the best service possible under No Win No Fee terms. That means:

• No solicitor service fees upfront
• No service fees as your claim progresses
• No solicitor fees in the event that your claim is unsuccessful

If your claim wins, you will have to pay a success fee to your solicitor. This success fee is small, as it is a percentage of the compensation and capped by law. Before you claim, this will be explained to you, so you’ll know from the start that you’ll keep the biggest share of the compensation.

By connecting with one of the specialist solicitors from our panel, you’ll have access to a range of client-focused services and tailored support from the outset. That includes:

• Expert assistance with identifying, gathering, and reviewing the best evidence to strengthen your claim.
• Actively helping organise and file your legal paperwork.
• Consistent and transparent communication, so you never feel unsupported at any stage of the claims process.
• A meticulous approach to negotiations, with the goal of making sure your settlement reflects the extent of your suffering.

Contact How Much Compensation’s Advisors

To learn more about how much compensation for dental nerve damage you could receive, please get in touch with our advisory team:

• Call us on 0800 408 7826
• Contact us by filling out our online form
• Use our free live chat feature

Learn More

To learn more, please see some of our other guides:

• See how to claim compensation for psychological damage
• Get help with claiming for a misdiagnosis
• Find out how to use our compensation calculator

Additional external resources:

• Learn how to raise a concern about a dentist or a dental professional from the General Medical Council
• Get help with finding out what NHS dental services are available to you from the NHS
• See the following advice on applying for statutory sick pay (SSP) from Gov.UK

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide about how much compensation for dental nerve damage you could claim.