Dentist barred from practising in B. C.

A B. C. dentist found guilty of 33 instances of incompetent practice and professional misconduct has had his registration cancelled by the College of Dental Surgeons of B. C., the most serious penalty the college can impose.

Derek Duvall will not be allowed to practise in B. C. unless he completes a college-approved general dentistry program and passes a national dental board examination, according to a decision handed down Friday by the college’s disciplinary panel. Duvall was also ordered to pay the college $ 95,000 in costs and may no longer use the title “Dr.”

The college’s findings of incompetent practice against Duvall included removing four adult pre- molars from a patient without informed consent, permanently cementing a damaged bridge to a patient’s teeth, failing to inform a patient of a serious condition, extracting 11 teeth from a patient without proper information and substandard provisions of crowns, dentures, restorations, veneers and root canals.

The findings of professional misconduct include hugging a patient, asking a seven- year- old patient, her mother and grandmother to sit on his lap, refusing to provide a patient with emergency service and failing to comply with the terms of an agreement he had with the college.

The incidents occurred in various B. C. communities between 2006 and 2009.

The college received complaints from patients about Duvall’s work as early as the mid- 1980s, but was unable to take action against him because he moved to Alberta and did not maintain his registration consistently.

Duvall first registered with the college in 1973 and practised in many B. C. communities.