A student was left 'horrified' and in pain when his teeth started sticking out after he got braces.

Kai Orley, 18-year-old, spent three-and-a-half years going back and forth to his dentist without any improvement to his teeth.

The apprentice wind turbine engineer from Stockton first had an appointment about getting braces when he was just ten years old but says his five-year treatment became a ‘traumatic’ nightmare.

“My front four teeth gradually began to stick out, which had never been an issue before,” Kai said.

The Northern Echo: Kai's teeth started sticking out after he started treatment.Kai's teeth started sticking out after he started treatment. (Image: PR)

“Mum and I raised concerns about the lack of improvement but were constantly told by that it would get better - we just needed more time.

“Throughout 2018 and 2019, I attended appointments nearly every month to have coils and elastics fitted and adjusted, but it didn’t seem like my teeth had got any better at all.”

Kai first visited Dr Andrew Zaranko at the Belasis Dental Practice in Billingham, Teesside, in November 2016 when he says he was told he wouldn’t need any teeth removed to get his perfect smile.

The Northern Echo: Kai Orley.Kai Orley. (Image: PR)

The then-12-year-old had braces fitted in early 2018, but was shocked when his front four teeth began gradually sticking out.

After almost three-and-a-half years Kai’s mum booked him an appointment at another dentist for a second opinion, where he was told the teeth Dr Zaranko said wouldn’t need removed would actually need to be taken out.

Kai said: “We were told that I needed two teeth extracted - which is what Dr Zaranko had said we could proceed without doing.

“I had the teeth extracted and a new set of braces fitted by the new dentist, and my teeth began to improve. I finally had my braces taken off in April 2022, aged 16, more than five years after my initial treatment started.

“It was an extremely frustrating and traumatic experience that affected my mental health and my diet a lot throughout secondary school.

“I constantly felt anxious about my teeth and I found it really hard to eat lunch at school for a time as I was in so much discomfort.

“I’m horrified when I think that this dentist could still be treating other patients incorrectly too.”

The family brought in lawyers who found a ‘number of dental errors’ that left Kai suffering throughout school.

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He won an £11,000 out-of-court settlement. Dr Zaranko did not admit liability.

Heather Owen from the Dental Law Partnership said: “The extended period of distress, pain and inconvenience our client has experienced at such a young age was unnecessary.

“If the dentist involved had provided the correct orthodontic treatment at the outset, then our client’s treatment would have been completed sooner and problems could have been significantly lessened.”