Dentist erased for discriminatory misconduct

An unnamed dentist has been erased from the General Dental Council (GDC) register for racist, sexist and homophobic discrimination, Dentistry has reported.

Last July, the dentist was suspended for six months by a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) for repeated inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues and patients.

However, the GDC then supported a Professional Standards Authority appeal arguing that the sanction was insufficient and that dentist should have been erased.

The original PCC report included practice staff testifying that the dentist made comments such as “I have my rape eye on you”, ranked women he wanted to “shag”. He also quizzed staff about their sex lives and suggested “dick pictures”. One colleague reported the dentist repeatedly stroking her arms inappropriately.

Other remarks included saying a patient had a pretty face but that it was a shame that she had such a small chest.

Women, he said, “belong in the kitchen” and he told a colleague: “I hate gays, but I like you”.

He said he would pour acid on his daughter if she brought home a black man.

At a review hearing in February this year, a separate PCC found that the dentist’s fitness to practise remained impaired and that it wasn’t satisfied that a risk of repetition was highly unlikely.

However, it revoked the suspension and imposed conditions for 18 months, allowing the registrant to return to practise under restrictions including workplace reporting and notifying the GDC of any disciplinary action.

There was a subsequent High Court hearing in June, where the judge ruled that the original committee had underestimated the seriousness of the dentist’s misconduct and failed to grapple with the cumulative gravity of the conduct it had found proved.

Following an appeal period, the dentist will be barred from practising.