King's College Dental Institute

I’ve had my wisdom tooth removed here on 6/08/2025. This extraction was by far the worst thing ever as it took over an hour and a half to do. It felt like it was a trainee doing the procedure as after the 2 dentists had to get another higher up dentist to remove the tooth. Eventually when the extraction was done, I’ve realised one of my other tooth was chipped as I was wide awake and can hear everything going on. I was screaming and crying of the pain I was in. I wasn’t given any antibiotics for my after care and no heads up for anything. As soon as the procedure was finished, I was told to leave immediately which made me feel upset and unsure about my procedure. The pain I was in due to the after math was the worst pain I’ve endured in my whole life. I was in agony and still is in agony. I am now going private to a private clinic to get my other wisdom tooth extracted as I do not trust the NHS anymore. By far the worst pain I have ever felt in my whole life I’m living in a nightmare in constant pain. I’ve purchased some ibuprofen but it’s not helping what so ever.

I obtained an appointment with this hospital after almost a year during which my condition became much more severe. I saw an oral pain specialist who gave me a wrong diagnosis, telling me I had oral dystonia — which I have never had. I also saw a restorative dentist, Martin Keller, who, without examining me or carrying out any diagnostic tests, diagnosed me with a psychological factor and advised me to see a private Italian-speaking dentist. Today, my condition is extremely serious. The doctor prevented me from receiving future treatment with an incorrect diagnosis, without investigating further, and did not believe my symptoms, despite the fact that I am a vulnerable patient with systemic lupus erythematosus. My vital functions are now compromised and worsening. My life has become hell on earth. In February 2024, a group of friends paid for me to have private dental treatment. Unfortunately, the dental work was unsuitable for my arch — too narrow, too small, with tilted and protruding teeth. This immediately caused severe anatomical alterations and structural and oral damage, which worsened rapidly. My palate became much narrower, the arches collapsed, and all my teeth migrated significantly. The nasal septum deviated, and my nasal cartilage and valves collapsed due to the strong pressure on the upper maxillary bone when the bridge would not fit, greatly reducing the palate space and making breathing and swallowing difficult. I also developed mandibular subluxation with downward and leftward deviation of the jaw, which is worsening over time. My facial muscles have collapsed, my neck has moved far forward and cannot stabilise. I have a constant imbalance between my skull, jaw, and neck. I suffer from daily dizziness, instability at the cranio-cervical junction, and loss of balance. My soft palate is retracted, my uvula is flaccid. My tongue has lost its natural function. The tongue retracts and slopes downwards from top to bottom, with strong posterior tension. The tip curls backwards and rests behind the premolars, while the back of the tongue retracts deeply into the oral cavity. This causes a strong sense of dysfunction and lack of coordination with the skull, neck, jaw, and upper teeth, which have both been pushed forward. At times, I am forced to keep my tongue far outside my teeth or curled up in order to speak or try to swallow or breathe better — but without success. I feel as if I am swallowing my own tongue as it retracts, triggering gag reflex and partial airway obstruction, especially at night. All this has severely compromised my breathing, swallowing, rest, and daily life. Even the sublingual nerves have been strained, producing a “crack” sound followed by abnormal relaxation. I feel pain and clicking in the laryngeal and pharyngeal cartilage every time I swallow. I have been completely abandoned clinically. To this day, I have no help and no treatment. My teeth have moved further forward in an asymmetric way, causing further forward movement of the jaw and neck and even more collapse of the arches. The tongue has begun to lose stability and behave in a pathologically abnormal way, out of sync with the oral and cervical structures. For the past four months, the deterioration has been constant. The dysfunction has become unmanageable. I have pain in the high anterior neck, with intense tension alternating with stabbing pains and relaxation, close to the tongue. I am now in a state of severe cranio-oral-cervical imbalance, which no longer corresponds to my natural biology. At Guy’s Hospital, where I was seen on 7 July 2025 by a TMJ specialist, it was confirmed that my GP must urgently refer me to a coordinated multidisciplinary team at a hospital specialised in complex cases. Unfortunately, despite a private maxillofacial consultant who assessed my complex and serious case, I am still without treatment. Thank you, King's, for having reduced my quality of life to zero.

Extremely Traumatic Experience The doctors were polite and caring, but in the end, I had a terrible experience during a tooth extraction at this hospital. It felt like a trainee or a very inexperienced dentist was performing the procedure. He was shaking the tooth so aggressively that I couldn’t open my mouth properly afterwards, and my jaw was in severe pain. Eventually, another dentist (possibly more experienced) took over and removed the tooth quickly, but the damage had already been done. The socket was not properly cleaned, and I was sent home with gauze that was removed after just a few minutes. Once the anesthesia wore off, I was in horrible pain. My mouth was torn at the corner, and the surrounding gum was badly injured. I endured this for nearly a week, relying on ibuprofen for relief. I later contacted an NHS dentist, who did an X-ray and discovered that a piece of bone had been left behind. They removed it and treated the area. Now, 11 days later, I’m still in pain, taking antibiotics, and may need to return Nhs dentist if things don’t improve. This experience has affected both my physical and emotional well-being. I’ve had complex extractions before at other clinics and never suffered like this. I truly regret not waiting for my regular dentist to return from holiday. After this, I’ve developed anxiety about receiving dental treatment at hospitals.