Revealed: Convicted, unknown and unregulated ‘dentists’

Updated / Thursday, 7 Sep 2023 13:55

RTÉ Investigates

A person with a conviction for sexual assault who is not registered with the Dental Council of Ireland has been practising as a dentist here.

RTÉ Investigates understands the individual has been based at a clinic outside Dublin, and practising as a dentist in Ireland for a prolonged period. A second criminal investigation against them is also in progress.

The person has been the subject of a complaint to the Dental Council. Their case is one of several relating to people practising dentistry while unregistered which have been received in the last 12 months alone.

Operating as a dentist while unregistered with the Dental Council is a criminal offence.

Information on such complaints was released to RTÉ Investigates by the Dental Council ahead of a report which airs on Prime Time tonight.

Other complaints relate to someone purporting to be a registered dentist who repeatedly saw a child with a severe dental infection but did not treat the infection appropriately. The eight-year-old girl, who presented at the clinic with an abscess, was not x-rayed nor was she prescribed antibiotics, leading to the infection becoming progressively more serious.

The child’s mother later discovered the individual had given her the name of another correctly registered and qualified dentist when they first introduced themselves to her. That correctly registered dentist had no links whatsoever to the practice being attended.

The identity of the person who treated the child remains unknown and the clinic continues to operate.