A dentist has appeared in front of a disciplinary panel to face more than 30 separate charges for his alleged behaviour at a Tayport practice.
The accusations against Andrew Robertson Gow, who worked at the Old Bank Dental Surgery in Tayport, were raised in front of chiefs at the General Dental Council (GDC) on Monday and it is expected the hearing will last three weeks.
Gow had been fit to practice since June 2010 when he attained his qualifications in Dundee and went on to work at the Tayport surgery for just over four months from April 30 to September 4 in 2012.
His address is now listed at Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire.
One of the charges Gow faces is that on or around June 28 2012 he inserted fingers in a patient’s mouth and/or used gloved hands in the patient’s mouth despite a request not to.
The client was said to be “distressed” at the time of the incident, while another patient of Gow’s is also alleged to have become distressed during attempts to fit a crown.
Gow is claimed not to have taken “sufficient steps” to manage the patient’s anxiety and “failed to obtain consent” for the procedure, which he persisted with.
During his treatment of the same client, Gow is alleged to have made a note saying the patient was “v. badly behaved” which was “inaccurate and/or misleading” because the patient’s behaviour was due to Gow’s “failure to manage dental anxiety”. The GDC’s Practice Committee will also hear that Gow is also claimed to have criticised and blamed other dentists in his records.
A charge states in a referral letter dated July 27 2012, Gow “inappropriately recorded that (his) predecessor ‘incorrectly informed the patient that the tooth will be kept under observation and referred … if the pain returns’ as a criticism of such advice by a previous dental professional.”
Gow was originally suspended on April 4 2014 for 18 months and currently it is due to remain in place until October 3 this year but that could change following the hearing.