Illegal dentist fined £12,000 for working on patients

A MAN has been ordered to pay £12,000 after undercover investigators found him illegally practising dentistry in Birmingham.

Hasnain Rehemtulla pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawfully practising dentistry at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on June 4.

The General Dental Council (GDC) launched an undercover investigation into Mr Rehemtulla, of Ayman’s Prosthetics in Coventry Road, Small Heath, following a complaint from a patient in October 2017. The patient alleged that the defendant, who was removed from the register of dental care professionals after failing to pay the annual fee in 2013, had sold them ‘unbreakable dentures’. The dentures eventually caused a large abscess requiring strong antibiotics to resolve.

Undercover GDC investigators visited Ayman’s Prosthetics in January 2018 where Mr Rehemtulla claimed to be a dental technician and indicated he could provide new dentures.

The GDC said in a statement : “Under Section 38 of the Dentists Act 1984, it is an offence for anyone not correctly registered with the GDC to practise dentistry, including the provision of dentures.

“Furthermore, lack of registered Mr Rehemtulla’s status means he was providing dental services without valid insurance, placing the public at even greater risk.

Mr Rehemtulla pleaded guilty to all four charges and was fined £8,000. He was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge and legal costs to the GDC of £3,966.

Katie Spears, head of illegal practice at the General Dental Council said: “Our primary purpose at the GDC is to protect the public from harm. Regardless of the qualifications an individual may have gained in the past, unless they are currently registered with the GDC, fully insured to practise and up to date with professional development requirements, they pose a real risk to the public.

“The GDC takes reports of illegal practice of dentistry very seriously and, where appropriate, will prosecute in the criminal courts.”