Time to read
I arrived at my dentist’s office 20 minutes early for my appointment, only to be seen 15 minutes late. The dentist examined my tooth, took X-rays, and determined that an extraction was necessary. Since I already have false teeth at the front, we discussed adding the extracted tooth to my current plate so there wouldn’t be a visible gap. Everything was prepared – the protective coverings, the instruments, the needles – ready for the extraction.
Then she reviewed my medical history.
When she saw that I had high blood pressure, she asked about my medication and confirmed it wouldn’t be an issue. But as soon as she reached the section in my medical notes where it said that I was living with HIV, everything changed.
She suddenly stopped and claimed she had “run out of time” to treat me. Then she looked at my X-rays again and said my tooth was too fragile for the procedure. Moments later, she said that she thought I had an infection and so I would need antibiotics before the extraction took place.
I was confused – everything had been set up for the procedure, and now she was refusing to do it. I knew I didn’t have an infection; I had been through extractions before and recognised this pain as being the same as it had been before.
But she was firm. She handed me a prescription and ushered me out the door. At the front desk, I asked what I had paid for since I had received no treatment. The receptionist told me they would roll my payment over to my next appointment, but that my dentist would be away for a month. That meant I would be left in excruciating pain until she returned.
Luckily, they were able to fit me in with another dentist within a few days. That dentist took one look in my mouth, confirmed there was no infection, and removed the tooth in ten minutes.
I just couldn’t shake what had happened. It felt wrong, but I wasn’t sure if I was overreacting. So I spoke to my mum, explained everything, and asked for her opinion. She was outraged. That’s when I knew I had to do something.
I filed a formal complaint with the dental company, and after weeks of waiting, they replied just before the deadline for responses – essentially brushing it off. They claimed to have conducted an investigation and found no wrongdoing. They had attached a letter from my dentist which was full of contradictory excuses: first, she said that she didn’t have enough time; then, that she didn’t have the right expertise to carry out the procedure; and then, that she lacked the correct PPE. But why would she have begun preparing for the extraction if she wasn’t qualified? Why would PPE even be an issue? Standard precautions should already be in place for every patient.
This reply was really frustrating, so I took my complaint to the General Dental Council (GDC). The investigation dragged on for months, and by the time the findings were released, I had missed the six-month window to file a discrimination case.
But when the GDC’s report finally came back, it fully sided with me. They found multiple failures, both of medical negligence and discrimination. They were even able to discover that my dentist hadn’t properly reviewed my medical history before the appointment – something she should have done well in advance. There were failures in record-keeping, a lack of informed consent, and inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.
The GDC found that my treatment was compromised due to unjustified fears and misinformation regarding my HIV status, reinforcing the kind of harmful stigma within the healthcare system that just shouldn’t exist. Now, my former dentist is facing a disciplinary panel, which will determine whether she can continue practising.
This entire experience has left me shaken. I’ve always been upfront about my HIV status with medical professionals, and I’ve never faced discrimination like this before. But because of this incident, I will now feel paranoid about disclosing it in the future. For the first time, I was made to feel “diseased”. It’s taken a huge toll on my confidence, and my trust in healthcare providers.
All I ever wanted was acknowledgment that what happened to me was wrong – an apology and an admission of error. Instead, I was met with excuses and delays. So I’m speaking out now because this should never happen – to me or to anyone else. Discrimination like this does still exist, and to make things worse, the system makes it nearly impossible to fight back. The six-month limit on filing a case allowed them to delay justice. That needs to change.
I don’t want compensation. I want accountability. And I want to make sure that no one else has to go through what I did.
Lindsey from National AIDS Trust’s discrimination advice service has been amazing. She did everything that she possibly could do for me – she’s been absolutely brilliant. I didn’t expect to get that amount of help. I just needed some advice, which actually, I got in abundance. I reached out to National AIDS Trust because I didn’t know where to go: they came up when I Googled, and I thought they might be able to help me. And it’s been great. It’s just nice to know that someone’s got my back.