Avoiding ‘oral bombsites’ at Ock Street

Last week the Daily Mail reported on the case of Rose Devereux, a 49 year old mother of three who reportedly had to ‘remortgage her home’ to cover the costs of repairing her teeth following years of botched dental treatment which left her mouth looking like an ‘oral bombsite’.

Ms Devereux visited the dentist in Liverpool for several years, during which time her dental treatment was allegedly incompetent. She was left with her bottom row of teeth virtually destroyed by gum disease, and her top row not looking much better. Ms Devereux suffered much pain and discomfort, which led to other health problems such as hip pain, headaches and problems with mobility. The dentist responsible for Ms Devereux’s care is now facing a disciplinary panel, whilst she awaits restorative care. So how do we ensure that our patients at Ock Street are protected from a similar disaster? How do you know you are safe?

We know that we can only provide the very best in patient care by ensuring that our team are fully qualified and experienced before they carry out their job roles. This starts with our initial recruitment process. We carry out a stringent evaluative process when recruiting new staff, to ensure that only the best applicants make it through to interview. As is UK law, we ensure that all of our practitioners are appropriately registered and regulated: either by the General Dental Council or General Medical Council (visit Our Team and click on a staff member to view their General Dental Council registration number and biography information). All have undergone full training to achieve and maintain this status. In fact many of our team have chosen to specialise in specific areas, and have undertaken additional training and achieved further specific qualifications that go far above and beyond what they need to practice safely and legally.

At Ock Street, we are a member of the British Dental Association Good Practice Scheme, which is a quality assurance framework for UK dentists. In order to be eligible as members, Ock Street shows their commitment to providing dental care in line with nationally recognised best practise standards. Please see our website for details of these standards.

We are also registered with the Care Quality Commission as able to carry out an extensive list of services. In order to maintain this registration Ock Street is continually monitored by the CQC and regulated in a number of areas (dental services; diagnostic and/or screening services; complex dental procedures; private doctors; urgent care services). We were last inspected in July 2013 and met all essential criteria.

We understand the importance of feeling confident in your dentist. The experience of Ms Devereux is a stark warning about what can happen if dentists do not practice correctly or in line with nationally approved standards. We are very happy to speak with any patients who have concerns about qualification, experience or registration so that we can put your mind at ease before you undergo treatment.