Decision Report 201304163

Summary

Mr C complained that a dentist had failed to fit a crown properly. He said that the crown was too big and that he could not close his teeth together. He also said that it eventually fractured because it had been too big.

We took independent advice on this complaint from our dental adviser. The crown had initially been too big, and Mr C had gone back to the dental practice the day after it was fitted to have it adjusted. The adviser said that minor adjustments are often required to a crown to fit the biting surface correctly, and that this was not unreasonable. The dental notes indicated that Mr C had accepted the adjustment that was made. There was no evidence in the dental records that he later complained about the size of the crown before it broke over two years later. We found no evidence that the care and treatment the dentist provided to Mr C was unreasonable.