Miss Jennifer Hepburn, a 45-year-old West End performer from Lewisham, London, has been awarded
£11,000 by her former dentist with the help of specialist dental negligence solicitors the Dental Law
Partnership. The payment was awarded after her dentist mistakenly extracted the wrong healthy tooth
and failed to implement extra precautions to take account of her Ehlers-Danlos syndrome such as need
for additional local anaesthesia and minimal force to prevent severe bleeding. This resulted in a
traumatic experience of losing a tooth in error, and a costly second extraction of the correct tooth that
had to be done under sedation due to the trauma she experienced.
Miss Jennifer Hepburn was a patient of Dr Mohammed Payyappully Mohammedkutty at Oral Surgery
Ltd, London SE16 2XB. “I originally visited Dr Payyappully Mohammedkutty in June 2025 as I needed
a tooth extracting on the lower left side of my mouth. I was already extremely nervous about my
appointment because local anaesthetic has never worked properly on me and I’ve always had a fear of
dentists, “Miss Hepburn recalled. “During the extraction, he completely ignored my referral form which
stated that due to my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I needed extra local anaesthesia and minimal force to
avoid excessive bleeding and tissue damage. Instead, he grabbed my face and violently shook my head
while trying to pull the tooth out. I had to stop him several times because the pain was unbearable
“My body started shaking uncontrollably from the pain and distress. The nurse simply held me down
while the dentist continued pulling at the tooth. I felt completely powerless,” Miss Hepburn explained.
“When I finally got back to the car, my partner was horrified by the state I was in. I looked in the car
mirror and immediately realised the dentist had pulled out the wrong tooth. By this point I was shaking
so badly that I couldn’t even hold a glass of water.”
“Four to six weeks after I was still in constant pain with significant facial swelling. I work as a West
End performer, so I had to cancel rehearsals and also miss work as a singer in a bar, and everything that
followed only worsened my dental phobia. I was prescribed medication just to cope, and felt
increasingly self-conscious about my appearance, even avoiding smiling in photographs and trying to
hide my teeth,” Miss Hepburn recalled.
“When I went for a review appointment at the practice, they confirmed that the wrong tooth had been
extracted in error. I was in absolute shock and felt so powerless,” Miss Hepburn recalled. “I requested
a referral to another practice who said I’d need an additional extraction on the correct tooth, which was
made even worse due to the force and damage caused during the initial procedure. I would also need an
implant which will require replacement in the future.”
Frustrated with the experiences she had gone through, Miss Hepburn contacted the Dental Law
Partnership in 2025. Further analysis revealed the extent of the poor dental treatment Miss Hepburn
received from Dr Payyappully Mohammedkutty where he wrongfully extracted a healthy tooth and
failed to take precautions regarding her medical condition. This resulted in the unnecessary loss of a
tooth and need for a costly implant, and additional costs and sedation to extract the correct tooth, all of
which could have been avoided.
“I am now terrified of going to the dentist. When I contacted the new practice to find out what happened
and to correct it, I was shaking uncontrollably due to fear and distress, and my partner had to accompany
me for support,” Miss Hepburn explained. “This issue has only worsened my dental phobia, particularly
as my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome was completely ignored. I now regularly require medication in order to
cope with attending future appointments.”
Rebecca McVety of the Dental Law Partnership commented: “The distress and pain our client has
experienced was completely unnecessary. If the dentist involved had provided more satisfactory
treatment, her problems could have been avoided.”