A Bexley woman was forced to have two teeth removed after years of allegedly botched dental work left her in agony.

Kelly Harper, 39, suffered for five years after two dentists purportedly failed to treat severe tooth decay.

Hairdresser Kelly, of Dykewood Close, has now been awarded £14,000 in compensation.

Her suffering started in 2009, when she was experiencing severe toothache and visited Dr Damon Cogger, at Erith Road Family Dental Practice, who had been her family dentist for 20 years.

He told her she needed a temporary filling, which because she was pregnant, would have to be replaced with a permanent filling after she had given birth.

Kelly said: "It all sounded straightforward. So I had the temporary filling fitted.

"I automatically trusted Dr Cogger’s advice because he had been my dentist for a long time."

But when she returned after having her baby, she was told she needed root canal treatment.

Kelly added: "I went back to see Dr Cogger as planned.

"But instead of fitting a permanent filling he told me I needed root canal treatment on the tooth.

"I thought it was a bit strange because the temporary filling was meant to have fixed any major problems.

"I also wondered why he never recommended root canal treatment in the first place.

"Nevertheless I went ahead with the treatment he suggested."

However, a year later in 2010, Kelly was still experiencing problems with the same tooth.

She returned to see Dr Cogger, and she says this time his solution was to fit a crown.

But in 2011, she was again suffering from severe toothache, and returned to the dentist.

Kelly said: "I couldn’t understand it. It was taking years to get the problem resolved.

"My tooth just felt wrong all the time, and I was in a lot of pain.

"But Dr Cogger just said I couldn’t expect the tooth to feel the same after the treatment I’d had."

Later that year, still experiencing problems with her teeth, Kelly saw a different dentist, Dr Kereshmeh Mehdipoor of The Picardy Dental Practice in Belvedere.

He prescribed antibiotics, but the pain continued, and she says when she returned she was told she either needed repeat root canal treatment or to have the tooth extracted completely.

Desperate for the problem to be resolved, Kelly opted to have the tooth extracted, and in 2012 Dr Cogger undertook the procedure.

She thought the problem with her tooth had been fixed, but in 2014, a filling Dr Cogger had fitted on another tooth broke off - leaving her in extreme pain.

Once again she returned to his surgery, where he said the tooth needed to be extracted.

Kelly said: "He said the tooth was dead and should be removed.

"I took his advice because I’d never experienced pain like it.

"I was taking tramadol, it was just awful."

Later in 2014, Kelly saw a new dentist who told her she needed root canal treatment on another tooth.

Fed-up with the on-going problems, she contacted specialist dental negligence solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership.

Analysis of her dental records revealed Dr Cogger and Dr Mehdipoor had apparently failed to spot and treat decay on three teeth.

It was claimed decay had been clearly visible under a filling Dr Cogger had fitted as far back as 2011, but both dentists failed to spot it.

Dr Cogger had also provided ineffective root canal treatment and a defective crown, which increased Kelly’s problems, it was alleged.

Kelly said: "It’s shocking. To think I went through years of pain because two supposedly professional dentists never saw decay is unbelievable.

"In addition to the pain, I have unnecessarily lost two perfectly healthy teeth thanks to them.

"I can’t eat certain foods now and feel very uncomfortable at times.

"I don’t enjoy going to the dentist but now need lots of corrective treatment including having the two teeth replaced."

Jonathan Owen, of The Dental Law Partnership, said: "The whole situation has been a nightmare.

"The distress and pain our client experienced was completely unnecessary.

"If the dentists had provided adequate treatment in the first place the dental problems she experienced could have been avoided.

"We hope the compensation received goes some way towards paying for the corrective treatment required."

The Dental Law Partnership took on Kelly’s case in October 2014.

The case was successfully settled in December 2016 when the dentists paid £14,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

Neither dentist admitted liability.