A woman was left too embarrassed to leave the house after gum disease left her teeth looking like 'vampire fangs'.
Charlotte Bateman, 49, said she could no longer bear to be seen in public after the condition, which went undiagnosed despite regular visits to the dentist, turned her teeth jagged and fang-like.
Despite raising concerns about the fact that her teeth were 'drifting' around her mouth, her gums were left to rot.
Now, the baker, from Collington in Herefordshire, has been awarded £25,000 in compensation to pay for corrective treatment.
Her dentists, Smith, Holloman and Associated in Bromyard, Hertfordshire, did not admit liability during the year-long legal battle.
'When I would visit the dentist my gums would bleed so much during the examinations that they would have to stop and get me to rinse every time an instrument was put in my mouth,' said Mrs Bateman.
'One day, when I was flossing at home, a piece of debris got pushed up and lodged in my gum – gums are not meant to be soft like that.
'I knew something was seriously wrong.'
Mrs Bateman was finally diagnosed with severe periodonatal disease in 2011, after an X-ray taken during an orthodontic consultation revealed several of her teeth were exhibiting bone loss.
But, by that time, her front teeth had formed jagged, vampire-like fangs and her gums had dramatically decayed.
'I had raised concerns about the fact that my teeth were moving around my mouth,' said Mrs Bateman.
'My neighbour, who hadn't seen me in a while, visited shortly after that appointment and was visibly shocked at how my teeth looked.
'I was so embarrassed. I didn't want to be seen in public after that. I retreated into myself and avoided social situations.'
When her self-esteem was at its lowest, Mrs Bateman said her baking business began to suffer.
Daily Mail
Charlotte Bateman, 49, said she could no longer bear to be seen in public after the condition, which went undiagnosed despite regular visits to the dentist, turned her teeth jagged and fang-like.
Despite raising concerns about the fact that her teeth were 'drifting' around her mouth, her gums were left to rot.
Now, the baker, from Collington in Herefordshire, has been awarded £25,000 in compensation to pay for corrective treatment.
Her dentists, Smith, Holloman and Associated in Bromyard, Hertfordshire, did not admit liability during the year-long legal battle.
'When I would visit the dentist my gums would bleed so much during the examinations that they would have to stop and get me to rinse every time an instrument was put in my mouth,' said Mrs Bateman.
'One day, when I was flossing at home, a piece of debris got pushed up and lodged in my gum – gums are not meant to be soft like that.
'I knew something was seriously wrong.'
Mrs Bateman was finally diagnosed with severe periodonatal disease in 2011, after an X-ray taken during an orthodontic consultation revealed several of her teeth were exhibiting bone loss.
But, by that time, her front teeth had formed jagged, vampire-like fangs and her gums had dramatically decayed.
'I had raised concerns about the fact that my teeth were moving around my mouth,' said Mrs Bateman.
'My neighbour, who hadn't seen me in a while, visited shortly after that appointment and was visibly shocked at how my teeth looked.
'I was so embarrassed. I didn't want to be seen in public after that. I retreated into myself and avoided social situations.'
When her self-esteem was at its lowest, Mrs Bateman said her baking business began to suffer.
Daily Mail
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