Dental Tribune UK Edition, October 11-17, 2010, No.25 Vol.4

Published by Dental Tribune UK Ltd © 2010, Dental Tribune UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Dental Tribune UK Ltd makes every effort to report clinical information and manufacturer’s product news accurately, but cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims, or for typographical errors. The publishers also do not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Dental Tribune International. Group Editor Lisa Townshend Tel: 020 7400 8979 Lisa@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Managing Director Mash Seriki Mash@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Director Noam Tamir Noam@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Editorial Assistant Laura Hatton Laura..hatton@dentalt- ribuneuk.com Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk. com Sales Executive Sam Volk Tel: 020 7400 8964 Sam@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Design & Production Ellen Sawle Ellen@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA LowCost whitening from per patient £19.50 The Pioneers of Teeth Whitening Laser and whitening specialists since 1992 Call us now: 01227 780009 - www.quicklase.com BDTA Excel Stand J17 Laser Dentistry Limited Edition Offer £1780Choose your colour We have mastered Laser dentistry for you Offer for 3w laser including delivery and training, ex.VAT. Valid whilst stocks last. Previous vouchers are not redeemable against this offer QWQLLTDED220910RGadvert Illegal dentist worked for NHS, court told V inisha Sharma, 37, of Willenhall, West Mid- lands, posed as a den- tist and worked on hospital patients despite having a lack of dental qualifications af- ter she wrongly claimed to have a degree from the Sri Guru Ram Das institute, India. Sharma admitted one count of using a forged degree and four counts of obtaining a pecu- niary advantage. She has since admitted forging her qualifica- tions and earning £230,000 by deception. Ms Sharma moved around England on annual contracts and worked in Wolverhampton and Burton-upon-Trent, in Staf- fordshire, before moving south to Southend and Basildon in Essex, Peterborough and Stam- ford, and finally East Grinstead in West Sussex. Faked degree Sharma failed her dentistry ex- ams but then applied for tempo- rarymembershipwiththeGener- al Dental Council (GDC) in 2000. She worked for nine years at six NHS trusts; such work included operating on people under su- pervision and minor surgery. It wasn’t until consultant Patrick Magennis contacted the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead in 2008 after he was concerned by her conduct and lack of veracity that Sharma’s past of deceit caught up with her. However, her deception went unnoticed and after failing the paper exercise she required to gain full registration in 2008, her fraud went undiscovered yet again. Sharma was eventually charged after an investigation by the NHS Counter Fraud Service. Successful entry to the GDC registers through fraudulent means remains exceptionally rare and the GDC stresses that they are “committed to doing all it can to prevent a repeat of this incident”. As a result, a review into Temporary Registration is underway The GDC said: “We have a strict system in place for regis- tration, which includes potential registrants providing character references and a series of cer- tified documents - including a certified copy of a passport and dental degree or diploma. According to further re- ports, Eddie Crouch, from the Birmingham Local Dental Committee, said: “I think it’s important that the GDC carry out the specific checks on den- tists who come into this country to work to ensure that they are adequately trained and qualified. Sharma told investigators that she had “never had any complaints” from her patients and added that “invasive sur- gery is not something that you can teach yourself out of a book.” Sentencing will take place during the week beginning 18 October. DT October 11-17, 20102 News United Kingdom Edition