A Dundee dentist has been cleared of misconduct after being accused of aggressive and inappropriate behaviour towards a patient.
Keith Watson spoke of his relief that his professional name has been cleared after the General Dental Council (GDC) threw out the complaint against him and found that none of the charges against him had been proven.
He faced a charge of misconduct that could have led to him losing his licence less than two years after qualifying as a dentist. However, he was wholly exonerated by the GDC, which cleared him of all charges after a hearing in London on Tuesday.
The GDC’s professional conduct committee published its findings of fact on Wednesday and said none of the allegations made by the complainer identified only as Patient A had been proven.
They stated that Patient A was an “unreliable witness” and they preferred evidence given by Mr Watson and his dental nurse. As a result they found Mr Watson’s fitness to practise had not been been impaired and is not in question.
Speaking from London after learning he had been cleared, Mr Watson, of The Bond, Seagate, said he had feared his patients would believe the allegations.Evidence was unreliable”I am very relieved that the allegations made against me were found by the GDC to be untrue and I am grateful to them for realising that the patient was not a credible witness and his evidence was unreliable,” he said. “I sincerely hope that he realises what he did was morally very wrong and does not try this again with any other dental professional.”
He added, “It hasn’t put me off dentistry but it has made me trust some people less that’s the worst thing about it.”
The dentist, who works at the Discovery Dental Practice in Dundee, had only been practising for nine months when Patient A accused him of threatening behaviour.
Patient A had attended the dental surgery on April 13 last year. He told the disciplinary hearing that he had gone to have rotten teeth removed and replaced with dentures. He alleged that Mr Watson had ignored his complaints of pain and pressed ahead with his treatment.
Patient A claimed that Mr Watson had called him a “moaner” for complaining about the pain and told him, “If you don’t shut your **** you won’t get any more treatment and you can get the **** out.” Patient A also alleged that Mr Watson had threatened to stamp on his new dentures, told him to pay his bill and not to come back.
When he left the West Bell Street surgery, Patient A made a report of the incident to two passing police officers.
However, it also emerged during the hearing that Patient A had convictions for a range of offences dating back to 1971, including assault, actual bodily harm, theft, burglary and dishonesty.
Michael Mylonas, acting for Mr Watson, accused Patient A of making up the story after he had tried to assault Mr Watson. Mr Mylonas said Patient A had made the allegations to avoid another charge of assault a claim he denied.
Had the committee believed Patient A’s evidence, Mr Watson could have faced the end of his dental career less than two years after graduating from the school of dentistry at Dundee University.
The GDC can impose a range of penalties for any dentist found guilty of misconduct. These range from public reprimand to temporary suspensions. The most serious penalty is erasure from the Professional Dental Register.