A dental practice in the Birmingham area

4. Mr E complains the Practice refused to remove stitches in September 2024, and incorrectly removed him from its patient list in late 2024.

5. Mr E says he was in left in pain with swollen gums and pallet. He says he was unable to eat properly and was reluctant to leave the house due to his dental appearance. Mr E says this has caused frustration, distress, and impacted his mental health.

6. Mr E would like an apology and financial remedy.

7. This background is only intended to place the key events related to this complaint in context, not to provide a full, chronological account of everything that happened.

8. In early June 2024, Mr E had an appointment at the Practice. Mr E was referred for extractions of several of his upper teeth at a different local dental practice.

9. In early September, Mr E attended the different local dental practice and had several upper teeth extracted.

10. In mid-September, Mr E was due to have an appointment at the Practice. Mr E did not attend this appointment.

11. In late September, Mr E had treatment at a different dental practice.

12. In late 2024, the Practice removed Mr E from its patient list.

Stitches removal

16. Before we decide if we should conduct a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and have not found any indications that something has gone wrong.

17. Mr E says the Practice refused to remove stitches following upper teeth extractions at a different practice in early September 2024.

18. The GDC’s ‘Standards for the Dental Team’ is the standards of conduct, performance, and ethics all dental professionals must follow. Section 1 of the standards say a dentist must provide appropriate care to the individual patient.

19. Our adviser said the stitches used to seal the wounds in Mr E’s mouth, following the extractions were dissolvable. This meant they were designed to break down naturally, typically within two to three weeks, and there is no clinical need to remove dissolvable stitches.

20. From the records, we can see the Practice arranged an appointment for Mr E around 10 days after the extractions. Mr E did not attend this appointment, so the Practice did not provide further dental care to him.

21. We acknowledge the difficulties Mr E experienced following the removal of his teeth, and the pain and distress that he experienced following this. Because the stitches were due to dissolve on their own, we would not expect the Practice to offer to remove them. We therefore cannot see any indications the Practice has not acted in line with GDC standards.

Patient list removal

22. Mr E says the Practice unfairly removed him from its patient list.

23. From Mr E’s dental records, we can see the Practice wrote to him in February 2025 to explain it would no longer offer him future appointments. We appreciate this must have been very concerning for Mr E.

24. Section 1.7.8 of the GDC’s standards provides guidance on ending a professional relationship with a patient.

25. The standards say trust between a dentist and patient may breakdown and it may be necessary to end the professional relationship. The standards say a practice must be satisfied the decision is fair, be able to justify its reasons, and take steps to ensure arrangements are made for the patient’s continuing care.

26. The NHS ‘Standard General Dental Services Contract’ are the terms and conditions set out by the NHS when commissioning dental services. Section 39 of the contract says a practice may no longer provide services when there has been an irrevocable breakdown in relationship and notice has been given to a patient.

27. In its letter to Mr E dated 13 February 2025, the Practice fully explained its reasoning to decline to offer him future appointments. This was after Mr E had left an extremely negative review online, had said he did not want to be seen by the Practice’s dentist, and appeared to have lost trust in the Practice’s professional capabilities.

28. The Practice explained it felt the professional relationship between it and Mr E had irretrievably broken down and all trust had been lost. The Practice informed its Integrated Care Board (ICB) and signposted Mr E to NHS England for advice on other local dentists who were currently taking on patients.

29. We therefore consider the Practice followed its contract when it decided not to offer Mr E future appointments due to the relationship breaking down. We consider the Practice fully explained and justified its reasons to Mr E. It also provided advice on next steps for continuing dental care. This in line with the GDC’s standards.

30. We recognise the frustration Mr E has experienced following the Practice’s correspondence. We cannot see any indications the Practice did not act in line with its contract or national standards, so we will not consider this part of his complaint further.

Conclusion

31. We appreciate this has been a difficult and distressing time for Mr E, and our decision is not intended to lessen the impact these events have had on him.

32. In summary, we will not take any further action on Mr E’s complaint, as we have seen no indication something has gone wrong here. We hope we have clearly explained the reasons for our decision and would like to thank Mr E for giving us the opportunity to consider his complaint.

1. We have carefully considered Mr E’s complaint about a dental practice in the Birmingham area (the Practice). We were saddened to learn about Mr E’s dental problems and about the impact this has had on him.

2. We have decided we will not take any further action on his complaint. This is because based on the evidence, we cannot see any indications the care provided by the Practice fell below clinical standards. We have also seen no indications the Practice did not act in line with guidelines or contract when it declined to offer him future appointments.

3. We hope we can clearly explain our decision and help Mr E to understand the reasons for our decision below.