A U.K. National Health Service (NHS) dentist is in hot water for recommending a mouthwash treatment for a patient who had oral cancer, according to an article in the Telegraph.
The 58-year-old patient, Paula Drabble, went to Pinfold Dental Practice in Hattersley, Hyde, in June 2008 when she noticed a white lesion on her gum. The dentist she saw, Dr. Ian Hughes, assured her the lesion was not serious, and he recommended that she manage it with mouthwash.
However, the lesion had first been observed at University Dental Hospital in Manchester who referred Drabble to Dr. Hughes with instruction to re-refer her if changes in its condition were seen. Drabble did not drink or smoke and was thought to be of low risk for cancer.
In April 2009, she was sent to the hospital with a "seriously invasive cancer" diagnosis, according to the article. Surgery and treatment removed part of her mouth and lymph glands; she subsequently underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy and has since recovered.
In a lawsuit filed in High Court, she is requesting damages and that the dentist be found negligent for not properly assessing the development of the lesion from a "benign abnormality" to a deadly carcinoma.
Dr. Hughes has denied the charges, stating that the cancer would not have been observable to the naked eye in June 2008 when he first saw Drabble.
