Man left with lisp after dental work, tribunal told

George Glover allegedly told the patient he would look like a rabbit without pink acrylic to disguise his receding gums.

But when the man, referred to as Patient A, looked in the mirror he was so shocked at the results he burst into tears, the tribunal was told.

Glover’s practice, Fergus and Glover, in Aberdeen, was awarded Best Scottish Practice at the 2008 Private Dentistry Awards and specialises in implants, “permanent replacements for any number of missing teeth”.

Patient A contacted the surgery by phone after his dental bridge fractured following an assault the previous month.

He had been told by another dentist that implants were impossible because there was insufficient bone to attach them to.

Patient A was told that implant surgery or extraction were the only possibilities.

“He was given no other treatment options,” said case presenter Rebecca Harris. “Patient A was delighted to find a dentist who thought implant treatment would be a possibility in his case.

“He confirmed to Glover there and then that he wished to undergo that particular course of treatment.”

Ms Harris said that the treatment was “frankly doomed” and the inevitable problems should have been “obvious” to Glover.

“In a nutshell, it is said that Glover was substandard in many different respects and breached a number of regulations applicable to him.

“Glover placed the implants in an area with insufficient bone and, furthermore, placed them too deeply as a result.

“To be fair, it was always going to difficult, but it was confounded in this case by the fact that this potential difficulty had not been explained to Patient A.”

Patient A was left in a state of “great disappointment and dissatisfaction” as the tops of his crowns were visible and caused him to lisp.

Glover also used “ill-matching” pink acrylic to disguise his recessed gums, the hearing was told.

“He was told without it he would look like a rabbit with two large front teeth,” said Ms Harris.

“He was most alarmed by the use of the pink acrylic. He was most unhappy. He found a mirror, looked at his appearance and broke down in tears.”

The adhesive was a “totally different colour to his natural gums,” Miss Harris said.

Glover was also accused of “woeful” note-keeping.

The dentist admits claims, including failing to provide sufficient information to Patient A about the proposed treatment and failing to warn Patient A of the risk of a poor aesthetic result. If he is found to have committed misconduct, he could be suspended or struck off.

The dentist’s Fergus and Glover practice also scooped the Best Scottish Practice award at the 2007 Dentistry Awards and claimed further awards at the Private Dentistry Awards this year. The hearing continues.