A TAXI driver has been awarded £28,000 after dental work left him with a hole in his mouth.

In 2014, Ronald Hunnable decided to visit Dr Kambiz Gilani at a dental practice in Luton to replace four of his missing teeth.

But faulty implants left him in excruciating pain and he had to have them removed because they were infected.

The 64-year-old explained he did plenty of research before undergoing the treatment.

He said: "The dental practice had good recommendations online so I went to see them for a consultation.

"Dr Gilani said the implant treatment had almost 100% success rate and because I had no history of smoking this would definitely be the best option."

However, following his new implants being fitted, the Colchester resident began to notice swelling in his mouth.

Mr Hunnable said: "I couldn't eat properly, I had this horrible taste in my mouth and my breath smelt awful.

"I went back to the dentist but he just told me not to worry and the swelling would eventually go down.

When things didn't get any better, Mr Hunnable returned to the dentist again in February 2015 and was told he would have to lose the teeth, have bridgework or have a denture fitted.

He explained: "He said I needed to choose right there but I didn’t really have much information so I chose the bridgework because it sounded like the more conservative option."

The bridgework caused further problems for the patient and his regular dentist referred him to hospital where the work was removed.

Mr Hunnable said: "I was so angry because I’d spent so much money on the implants and visited the dentist enough times that he should have picked up on any problems.

"Now I have to live with a hole in my mouth where the bone graft and implant were."

Mr Hunnable got in touch with the Dental Law Partnership in May 2016 and his case was settled when the dentist paid £28,000 in an out of court settlement.

The dentist did not admit liability.