For reasons that remain unclear, all teeth and implants given to Namalie Goonetilleke were linked together in one eight-tooth bridge, the judge said. Photograph: iStockThe High Court has awarded nearly €100,000 to a woman over defective bridge and implant work on her teeth.
A full defence denying liability was delivered initially but when the case was due for hearing the defendants did not appear. Solicitors for the defendants had initially engaged but withdrew after they were unable to obtain instructions from the defendants.
She had her own local dentist in Galway and in 2013 a friend recommended the defendants. In April 2013, she attended the defendants and they gave her an outline of the costs of the dental work they proposed to carry out on her. He was satisfied from the expert evidence that this is not standard practice. Natural teeth should only be connected to implants and a bridge as a last resort, he said.