Mrs. Oluwatoyin.jpg and Dr. Adeniyi
…I am ready to face MDCN – Dentist
In this report, Tessy Igomu writes about a woman who lost four teeth in one day and is living with debilitating pain following alleged unprofessional conduct by a dentist. After exploring every avenue to reach an amicable financial settlement, she is bent on seeking redress from the MDCN.
In 2019, when Mrs. Oluwatoyin Arogundade, sought treatment in a private dental facility that came highly recommended by a close family friend, little did she know that the visit would cost her the loss of four teeth, leave her with permanent excruciating jaw pain and psychological trauma.
The 64-year-old, who is a resident of Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, told PUNCH Healthwise that presently, she cannot chew with the right side of her mouth and fears the worse.
Present state of her mouth
At the moment, Oluwatoyin is accusing the dentist that attended to her of unprofessional conduct, failure to avail her of sound professional advice and violating her right as a patient.
She also claimed that the dentist willfully attempted to take her life through a wrong diagnosis by prescribing medication used to treat mentally ill individuals to her, despite knowing the inherent and deleterious effects.
According to her, “Despite the ordeal I went through, the dentist has continued to display arrogance, has been combative, unreachable and unwilling to explore reasonable avenues to remedy the wrong he did to me.”
Routine check turns nightmare
The sexagenarian claimed that her ordeal began when she went to Crystal Dental Clinic on Ado-Ikere Road, owned by Dr. Kolawole Adeniyi to address a dental challenge.
She recalled going to the clinic based on a referral from a family friend whilst looking for a good dentist.
“When I met him, I complained about a pain in my jaw that comes with an accompanying headache and insomnia (inability to sleep).
“He came in readily highly recommended and I wasted no time to visit his facility. At the time, aside from the pain, two teeth were missing and I actually wanted to have them filled up,” she narrated.
The woman said after examining her, the dentist recommended Zirconia Crown Bridge, which was a denture and charged her N340,000 as a professional fee.
Oluwatoyin recalled that he gave her different options from which to make her pick and she ended up choosing the most expensive type, which she claimed the dentist insisted was the best.
The woman said shortly after filing the teeth, she travelled abroad to take care of her daughter that had just delivered a baby and claimed that throughout her stay, she suffered intense sensitivity as a result of the “doctor’s failure to professionally educate her on the disadvantages of filling the teeth without having the Zirconia crown in place.”
PUNCH Healthwise gathered that immediately after Oluwatoyin returned to Nigeria, she visited the clinic on May 2022, to complete the procedure by fixing the Zirconia Crown Bridge and alleged that the dentist still failed to forewarn her of any likely complications that could arise.
“He went ahead on to fix what he said was the Zirconia Crown after assuring me it could be put on an impacted molar,” she added.
According to her, trouble, however, started shortly after the procedure was completed as she started experiencing severe discomfort in her second pre-molar and last molar.
The discomfort, PUNCH Healthwise learnt, was followed by the cracking and subsequent breaking of the denture in March 2023.
She revealed that the dentist fixed another one for her but it also broke and he blamed the problem on a laboratory in Benin that manufactured the Zirconia Crown.
She recounted, “From the first day that he put in the crown, I started having an issue with it and I told him. He said a professor, who is also his client experienced the same problem but that he was able to find a solution to it.”
Prescribed drugs for mentally ill persons
Oluwatoyin said she returned to the dentist in May 2023, complaining of severe pains and he diagnosed her with a disease known as Trigeminal Neural, of which he recommended a medication known as Largactil, alongside other drugs.
The woman said she had an unsettling feeling about the medication and decided to seek a second opinion and was shocked when a physician told her the diagnosis was not only wrong but dangerous.
“According to the doctor, the Largactil that the dentist prescribed was used to treat mentally ill patients,” she alleged.
“I am the kind of person that if you give me drugs, I will Google and consult two to three doctors to confirm if the medication is safe. After my findings, I confronted him but he kept on insisting it was the right medication. I refused to take it and had to endure serious toothache.
“For the broken fixture, I told him to speak with the laboratory to provide a replacement because I paid so much for it, which he did, but unfortunately, the denture collapsed the second day. When I went back and told Dr. Adeniyi to remove the fixture, he refused.
“Meanwhile, when he was fixing the second crown that broke the next day, I kept telling him to do something about the last molar because of the way I was feeling but he wouldn’t listen. Even his secretary suggested that he should carry out an x-ray but he refused. What he did was send me to another dentist for further treatment.
Oluwatoyin said owing to the severe pain she was experiencing and the dentist’s alleged “Extremely uncooperative personal and professional attitude, that included being aggressive, abusive and non-responsive”, she was compelled to seek treatment in another dental facility suggested by a family doctor, instead of the one Dr. Adeniyi referred her to.
Trigeminal neuralgia/Largactil
According to Mayo Clinic, an online health portal, trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that causes painful sensations similar to an electric shock on one side of the face.
It noted that this chronic pain condition affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from the face to the brain.
“If you have trigeminal neuralgia, even mild stimulation of your face — such as from brushing your teeth or putting on makeup — may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain.
“You may initially experience short, mild attacks. But trigeminal neuralgia can progress and cause longer, more-frequent bouts of searing pain. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it’s more likely to occur in people who are older than 50,” stated Mayo Clinic.
Meanwhile, Largactilm, which is a brand name and has the active ingredient chlorpromazine is used to treat certain mental or mood disorders like schizophrenia, mania or psychotic depression, according to Health Direct.
Zirconia teeth were mere ceramic
She told PUNH Healthwise that at the new place, the dentist made mindboggling findings that left her shocked and angry at the same time.
“Immediately the dentist’s address was sent to me, I went there because I wasn’t feeling comfortable. When he saw what was in my mouth, he was shocked and requested for an X-ray to be carried out immediately.
“The test showed that my last teeth – the wisdom teeth had been impacted badly. The dentist told me that whoever fixed the crown was a wicked person,” she said.
The x-ray shows the circled impacted molar.
Oluwatoyin said she was disheartened to discover that the Zirconia Crown for which Dr. Adeniyi allegedly collected a huge amount of money was ceramic.
“I was made to know that the Zirconia Crown was a mere ceramic fix. Five units of broken ceramic bridge were found and they extended from the first premolar to the third molar and got dangerously close to the tissue.
“It was then it dawned on me that his refusal to carry out an x-ray was to hide the shoddy job that he did because the x-ray carried out by the new dentist show that my last molar was bent and impacted badly. This confirmed my observation that something seemed not quite right with the manner he tried to cover the crown but which he waved aside when I raised the issue.”
What constitutes a zirconia denture
According to Stuparich and Nowel Dental Associates which produce and carry out dental implants, zirconia fixed bridge or denture has exceptional strength comparable to natural teeth that are needed for proper biting and chewing of food for years to come.
The organisation explained that the bridges get their incredible strength and durability from how they are fabricated – from one solid piece of zirconia, noting that they are not plastic.
A sample of zirconia crown bridge
“Zirconia bridges are made from a material that has similar physical properties to titanium metal but aesthetic properties that offer attractive results. Traditional dentures and some hybrids are made by securing porcelain teeth into an acrylic base, which is essentially plastic.
“Zirconia bridges eliminate the weaknesses common with the two-material design of these traditional solutions. Your zirconia fixed bridge will withstand everyday wear and tear and offer significantly strong bite forces without fracturing. When permanently attached to dental implants, this system will help ensure your jawbone remains stimulated and healthy, too,” it stated.
Four teeth removed in one day
Oluwatoyin said when she returned to the new dentist on May 29, to have the impacted teeth removed, the dentist refused to carry out the procedure, citing a code of conduct put in place by the dental association.
She narrated, “He only promised to work around the teeth. I didn’t know what to do and cried uncontrollably, begging him to have mercy on me because the pain was killing me. He eventually agreed and removed four teeth in a day.
The four teeth removed at once
“I have no molar on my right side now and nothing to chew with since 2019 till date. The left side is even getting weaker.”
Oluwatoyin said she ended up paying N70,000 for the four extracted teeth.
The second set of broken zirconia crown
The woman said after informing Dr. Adeniyi of the development and efforts to make him pay part of the cost she incur, failed, and she was forced to contact a human rights lawyer in Abuja to intervene.
She said a letter was sent to him but he refused to agree to the terms boldly spelt out.
The letter, which was made available to PUNCH Healthwise was dated June 5, 2023, and titled ‘Formal Complaint Against Unsatisfactory Dental Service’.
In the letter, Oluwatoyin’s ordeal with Crystal Dental Clinic was highlighted and demands, which according to her, must be met within 14 days of receiving the letter, were made.
The letter partly read, “Granting your resolve to make yourself unavailable for rational discussion, I demand as follows: Full refund of my money, i.e. N140, 000, being the professional fee you charged for your unsatisfactory service and the additional cost I incurred for the routine extraction of four teeth.
“Payment of N500, 000, as damages to ameliorate the needless to which you subjected me to since 2019.
“An apology letter in writing to express remorse for your abusive and non-responsive conduct towards me.”
All moves for dialogue failed
Mrs. Oluwatoyin said she was compelled to seek help because all avenues to dialogue with the dentist failed.
“It appeared as if I was begging him. At my age, replacing molars with artificial implants is not good and could be deadly. The only thing I can do is to put in a flexible denture. I was told to come and pay for the artificial denture and I told Dr. Adeniyi but didn’t respond also.
“The flexible denture is already in progress and cost N140,000. I have paid for it and sent the receipt to those that know him very well so that he can be committed. To even say sorry about what he made me pass through is a big problem for him.
“I feel cheated, humiliated and pained. You can imagine a dentist removing four teeth in a day. Since they removed them, I have not been having pains again, I sleep well.
“I don’t want this to get out of hand because I also have children but I don’t want him to do this to another person. His unethical practice cost me four teeth. Can you imagine somebody not being able to chew with the right side since 2019?”
Her claims are surprising – Dr. Adeniyi
When PUNCH Healthwise contacted Dr. Adeniyi, he admitted that Mrs. Oluwatoyin was once his client and described her claims as surprising.
According to him, he spoke with her some days back and had promised to send some money to her.
The dentist claimed that the drug which he prescribed for Oluwatoyin was Carbamazepine and insisted that it is mainly used to manage people with her condition.
“I didn’t do anything untoward to her. All I did was within the professional ethics of dentistry. It is a situation where you have an issue with Google, patient obsessed and yourself. You will do something for a patient and the patient would go to verify on Google,” he defended.
The dentist said he had been on this issue with her for over four years and it has to do with five unit zirconia bridge, which he claimed was fabricated by Shalom Dental Clinic, Benin City, Edo State.
He said, “Shalom Dental Clinic in Benin, usually fabricate it for me. I am not the one fabricating it myself. My own is to take the model and send it, and as I am speaking with you now, I am still expecting two or three jobs from other patients. They have the technology to fabricate the zirconia and they have been fabricating it for me since.
“But before then, mama has been complaining about pain on that side of her mouth and I consulted with two other dentists. We arrived at the provincial of diagnosis Trigeminal neuralgia and that it is nerve pain. That pain is common among females of her age. Having investigated all her teeth, there is no how you will know.
“There is a drug we used to manage the pains which is carbamazepine and other medications. When they say vitamin C is used for catarrh, it is not a primary drug for catarrh, but it is the side effects of vitamin C that are used to manage a running nose.
“By the time she came back, she said I gave her a psychiatric drug but I explain everything to her. However, before giving her the drugs, I told her that the three of us discussed it properly.
“But this pain doesn’t go completely; it will go and come. After more than a year, mama called me and told me that her crown broke, which was not supposed to be based on what I know about zirconia. Because of the relationship, I have with the person that referred her, I called her back and carefully removed it. I took an impression of it and sent another cast to the lab but because of the price change, it was done at N55,000 per one and it was six pieces and I didn’t collect a dime from her.
“I always picked up her call. I can say that I was rude to her on the phone and it was because of the way she called to tell me that the thing had broken again after two weeks after fixing it. I was a little frustrated and perplexed and wanted to know how come why this particular job.
“I promised to get back to her and called the lab to find out what was actually going on. The lab management explained what could be the cause it was concluded that she might be a heavy grinder.
“The first grind on the teeth might be hard and that may possibly have broken it. We were working on how to solve the problem and were still deliberating on fabricating something with a metallic base when she called to say she had removed all the teeth meant to support the zirconia bridge. In fact, I was shocked and wondered which type of dentist would remove an abutment.
“I don’t know where things went wrong. I understand that dental pain can be severe but I did not abandon her.
Dr. Adeniyi denied overbilling Oluwatoyin and told our reporter to find out what it cost to treat a patient with Mrs. Oluwatoyin’s condition.
“I never extorted her and didn’t sell ceramics bridge to her as she claimed. I intend to give her N60,000 until she sent me a letter giving me 14 days ultimatum.
Am ready to face MDCN
When told that there was a probability that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria might need to wade into the matter, he appeared unfazed.
“I don’t have a problem with that. Let me face MDCN,” he said.
“If there is any unprofessional attitude in my job, I will be penalized. I know what I did and never did anything outside my profession. This thing has been going on for long and if she is bringing it up again, then she may be feeling pain presently.
“But I have always asked after her wellbeing. I have been reaching out to the other dentist that has been treating her to know how she is doing because he is a friend. I might not have called directly because I have not given her the money that I promised her.”
The MDCN is the regulatory body for the practice of Medicine, Dentistry and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria.
It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963, now Cap M8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Locating Shalom Dental Clinic
Following Dr. Adeniy’s claim that Shalom Dental Clinic, Benin City, Edo State, fabricated the zirconia bridge, PUNCH Healthwise requested for the lab’s contact details and he promised to send it across but never did.
When he was called and reminded about sending the details, the dentist became furious and said in a very stern voice, “Please, please, I don’t know how you got to know about all of this. I have explained myself to you,” and went on to disconnect the call.
Several attempts to reach out to him were not successful.
As of the time of filing this report, he had yet to respond to calls made to her mobile.
However, during an internet search, PUNCH Healthwise unearthed the website of the aforementioned dental facility and called the mobile number listed.
Though there was no response but a WhatsApp message sent to the number got an immediate reply.
After a formal introduction, PUNCH Healthwise sought to know if the facility actually fabricates dentures for Dr. Adeniyi and if they are aware of the two zirconia crown bridge allegedly manufactured for the dentist that failed, the person behind the chat replied, “Well ma, as much as I will want to be of help to you. I will appreciate it if we continue this conversation during work hours.”
Subsequent efforts to get further information failed.
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