Case Studies for principle 4
Mrs Wilson is a dentist. Mr Smith, the patient, contacted the GDC stating that Mrs
Wilson had extracted two of his teeth without any local anaesthetic.
Mr Smith said that one of his teeth was loose and so would have been fine to extract
without anaesthetic but the other one was still firmly in place and the extraction
caused him a great deal of pain.
The fitness to practise caseworker considered that Mrs Wilson may have breached
the following section from Standards for the Dental Team:
- 1.2.3 You must treat patients with kindness and compassion and manage their dental
pain appropriately.
The Investigating Committee considered the case. However, in her response to the
allegations, Mrs Wilson stated that she had given Mr Smith local anaesthesia before
carrying out the extractions.
She provided the Investigating Committee with a copy of Mr Smith’s records. The
records were computerised so it was clear what date the records were made. The records
were very detailed and included summaries of the discussions Mrs Wilson had with
Mr Smith before the treatment and the batch number of the cartridge of local anaesthetic
which she used. The Investigating Committee decided to take no further action.