The quality of my son’s orthodontic ‘care’ with Dr Savjani at Clearly Orthodontics was astonishingly poor, which was brought into sharp relief after we moved to another practice after 18 months of my son’s treatment coming to a complete standstill at Clearly Orthodontics. At the new practice, we were given the time, compassion and professionalism required to move my son’s treatment forward. At Clearly Orthodontics, we were given none of these. My son’s case was pretty complex, as there was a possibility that he might have a metal sensitivity (something which he had possibly shown signs of as a toddler but not since then). Dr Savjani said she would not fit his train-track braces until we had obtained the results of a metal allergy patch test. However, we were not able to access one of these for various reasons either through the NHS or privately, despite attempting to do so for over a year. Throughout this process, we found our orthodontist (Dr Savjani) to be largely unhelpful, partly due to her frequent misreading or misconstrual of information in my emails, advising us to try paths that we have already followed to no avail, thus indicating an insufficient grasp of the history and complexities of the situation. When I suggested that we talk over the telephone so that I could explain the situation more clearly, my request was refused with no good reason given. Instead, we were forced to communicate over email, to which there have often been long delays in my receiving replies, and which did not address my questions and concerns adequately. I visited my GP to discuss this matter, and she agreed that, taking on board all of the circumstances, the most logical way forward would be to proceed with the braces fitting and for me to sign a disclaimer for any risk incurred. Her professional opinion was that the risk was minimal. She wrote a letter to this effect to Dr Savjani, but Clearly Orthodontics never replied (or even acknowledged receipt of this letter), indicating the level of lack of care and respect which my son has received as a patient of this practice. This refusal to engage in a discussion about how to take this matter forward was quite astonishing (a sentiment shared by my dentist and my GP), and I believe that this breaches the duty of care principle as we were left without support and my son’s treatment has suffered a very long delay. After that, I lodged a formal complaint, and this complaint itself was not addressed within the 6 month time limit in which the practice stated it would address complaints. My complaint email was only answered after I reminded the practice (after the 6 month period had elapsed) that they hadn’t yet addressed my complaint. When I did finally receive a reply, it showed that Dr Savjani still hadn’t properly read and understood the situation, and no apology was forthcoming for the lack of engagement or learning on her part. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how much stress this situation has caused our family, and how shocked and disappointed we have been with the quality of ‘care’ we experienced at this practice.