A NEW Zealand dentist has been found guilty of making a female patient touch him sexually while she was sedated. The Dentists Disciplinary Tribunal found the man guilty of professional misconduct over the 2001 incident in which the dentist made her touch his penis.
The dentist claimed in his defence that the sedatives used in his dental practice caused the woman to have hallucinations. The tribunal rejected this claim as "unlikely" and said the woman involved in the 2001 charge was a "credible witness", while the dentist’s evidence was "less compelling". The tribunal dismissed 2 other similar claims against the dentist from the 1980’s for lack of proof.
The dentist continues to practice and his name has been suppressed by the tribunal while he awaits its decision on a penalty which is likely to be another month or more. The tribunal can ban the dentist from practising and impose a fine of up to $5000. It can also order him to pay the tribunal costs, which could be about $80,000 for the six-day hearing.
The tribunal did note striking similarities between the 2001 case and the earlier ones but decided that, given the seriousness of the allegations, a very high standard of proof was needed, and did not find this was satisfied.
New Zealand Dental Association chief executive David Crum said the case was "extremely unusual" and there were "good reasons" why the name suppression remained. (Well would you expect the dentists’ union to say anything different?)
I’m wondering whether the man got the wrong idea about what root canal therapy involves.
