Bexhill dentist struck off

A VETERAN Bexhill dentist has been kicked out of the profession for pulling out a grandmother's teeth 'to teach her a lesson'.

David Quelch removed two teeth without anaesthetic to leave the horrified 87-year-old with blood pouring from her mouth.

The retired nurse, from Bexhill, told how the extractions were carried out in revenge after she complained to her doctor about earlier treatment at Quelch's hands.

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Quelch carried out the agonising procedure at his practice in St Leonard's Road after the woman, referred to as Patient A, asked to be 'free of pain' during 2001.

The General Dental Council found Quelch guilty of serious professional misconduct and ordered his name be removed from the register.

During the three day hearing Patient A, who gave evidence via a video link, said: "Mr Quelch told me to sit in the chair and raised my feet above my head.

"I told him I had pain and he told me he was going to extract my teeth.

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"I objected, I didn't think it was necessary. He ignored my remarks and pulled out the tooth. I was bleeding profusely.

"He lowered my head and pushed my chest and proceeded to extract the other tooth against my will. I was very upset and alarmed."

She said that she asked to spit blood into a bowl at the side of the dental chair, but Quelch refused and said: "No, don't spit in the bowl, you might have Aids."

Patient A added: "I said I didn't want my tooth removed, he pushed me back, pushing me hard across my chest and extracted the second tooth. All I wanted was a filling."

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She said that a nurse was pushing down on her head throughout the procedure.

The patient had first attended Quelch's practice at St Leonard's Road, Bexhill, for a

filling in September 2001.

She said his attitude was casual and unprofessional.

"He didn't carry out a general examination or ask about my medical history.

"He just replaced the loose tooth. I found the filling unsatisfactory, I had problems with it afterwards."

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She informed Quelch on a second visit in December 2001 that she had seen a doctor and complained about the dental treatment she had received.

It was then she said he removed two of her teeth against her will and shouted: "That'll teach you

not to complain to the doctor about me."

She claimed she was bed-ridden for three days following the treatment and was left with large gaps in her mouth.

Her friend, Sheila Dier, who drove her to the dental appointment in December 2001, was waiting in her car outside when Patient A fled the surgery bleeding and distressed.

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Mrs Dier said: "She was only in there (the dentist) for 15 minutes which surprised me.

"I assisted patient A into the passenger seat of my car. She had papers towels to her face and she couldn't speak. The blood was coming down her chin. I took her home and put her in an arm chair.

"She was pale, I was very worried about her. She couldn't speak."

Quelch, who lives in Cooden Drive, chose not to attend the hearing.

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The panel ruled that he carried out the painful procedure against Patient A's will, but found a charge that he restrained her not proved.

The facts were also not proven in relation to the charge that extracting the teeth was not clinically necessary.

But the panel also found he unnecessarily exposed Patient A and a 35-year-old woman known only as Patient B, to radiation by taking inadequate x-rays of their jaws.

The hearing also heard that Quelch used potentially toxic metal to carry out root canal treatment on Patient B.

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The panel ruled Quelch failed to keep adequate records for Patient B who visited his surgery in September 2004 and October 2005.

They also decided he falsely recorded undertaking a root canal filling for patient B and claimed payment for the treatment.

Chairman Jason Leitch said: "The committee considers that Mr Quelch's misleading of Patient B into believing that she had had root canal treatment was a very serious matter.

"The committee takes a similar view of his inappropriate and misleading claims for treatment that he had not in fact undertaken.

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"It also considered his record keeping to be often unintelligible and of an appalling quality.

"The committee is concerned that in view of his unacceptable lack of insight and complacency that he presents a serious risk to patients. We have therefore decided to erase him from the dentists' register."

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