A Lewisham woman whose teeth snapped off while eating a piece of toast was handed £15,000 compensation from three dentists in Woolwich.

Michelle Crowley, 34, endured six years of pain in her teeth and eventually lost two of them, which she blames on the alleged continual failures of dentists at Karia Dental in Woolwich.

The practice did not admit liability but agreed to pay compensation in an out-of-court settlement over the allegations.

Mrs Crowley first visited the dentists in Woolwich in 2009 because she was suffering from a toothache and was told she needed root canal treatment and that a crown needed to be fitted on another tooth.

However that was only the start of her problems as she kept having to return to the dentist numerous times between 2010 and 2015.

Over that time she saw Dr Niloy Karia, Dr Babu Karia and Dr Sundeep Patel of Karia Dental but her problems persisted.

She said: “I thought this would be the end of it. It all sounded routine so I took their advice. You expect dentists to know what they’re doing.

“I was at the dentist more than anybody else I knew. I was always in pain and whatever treatment the dentists provided nothing seemed to work and the pain never went away.

“The pain, swollen gums and sensitivity literally went on for years. It was horrible and had such a negative impact on my life. It was so depressing.”

In 2014 one of her teeth fractured while she was eating a slice of toast, and after growing frustrated with Karia Dental, she decided to see a new dentist.

According to Mr Crowley, she was told her root canal treatment hadn’t gone deep enough and fillings and veneers had been so poorly fitted that they fell out or snapped off.

Mrs Crowley eventually lost two of her teeth and said the whole experience was “soul destroying”.

She said: “I couldn’t believe the dentists had continuously failed to provide the right treatment, and didn’t diagnose what was wrong.

“I saw them so many times and told them about the pain, swelling and sensitivity but it never made a difference. It is shocking three different dentists appear to have no idea what they’re doing.”

The Dental Law Partnership took on Miss Crowley’s case in July 2015. The case was successfully settled in January 2017 when the dentists paid £15,000 in an out of court settlement.

Jonathan Owen, from the Dental Law Partnership, said: “What our client had to experience was completely unnecessary.

“We hope the compensation she receives goes some way towards paying for the corrective treatment required.”

In a statement issued via the Dental Defence Union, Karia Dental Practice said that they weren’t able to comment on the case because of their duty of confidentiality.