PEPPERREELL: DENTIST NEGLECTED ELDERLY PATIENTS

A family dentist allowed a string of elderly patients to suffer from ‘supervised neglect’ over a period of years, a tribunal heard.

Stephen Pepperrell repeatedly failed to make proper assessments of tooth decay at his Devon practice, it is said.

The General Dental Council (GDC) heard he also did not keep full records, did not take radiographs when needed and wrongly prescribed antibiotics.

Pepperrell is accused of making errors when treating 20 different patients.

He made a series of factual admissions, but denies that his fitness to practice as a dentist is impaired, maintaining that the patients in question were an exceptionally challenging group to treat because of their age.

Paul Ozin, for the GDC, said Pepperrell, an associate dentist at the Absolute Dental clinic in Kingsbridge, Devon, made failings in ‘a number of categories’ concerning 20 patients between 2002 and 2010.

He referred to a report prepared by dental expert Martin Fulford which said: ‘Mr Pepperrell’s care and treatment over a long period of time fell below the standards of a competent and conscientious general dental practitioner.’

Mr Ozin added that one patient had suffered from tooth decay in three teeth and in one tooth had chronic infection for years, and that this had gone untreated.

He said: ‘Mr Pepperrell failed in Mr Fulford’s opinion to follow appropriate guidelines in his care and treatement of these 20 patients.

‘The patients, and I quote: “Were allowed to suffer from supervised neglect.”

Giving evidence Mr Fulford said the inappropriate use of antibiotics could have serious consequences both for individual patients and for the public at large, as microbes are becoming increasingly resistant to such drugs due to frequent exposure to them.

Pepperrell’s defence team are set to call their own expert witness, Dr Katharine Winstone, who will argue that his fitness to practice is not impaired, despite his factual admissions.

She will say that the patients in question were a ‘more challenging’ group to treat than the average, as they were generally older and had had extensive reconstructive dental work done in the course of their lives.

Mr Fulford said that he agreed with assessment of the challenging nature of the patients, but said this did not mean that they could be neglected.

He said: ‘Whereas there are a cohort of patients who have mouths that have been heavily restored and they are becoming increasingly difficult to treat as they become more frail, nonetheless I think we need to do our best for those patients.’

Pepperrell, who is currently registered at Brook House, South Milton, Devon, admitted a series of factual charges.

If the GDC finds that this means his fitness to practice is affected, he could be suspended or even struck off from professional practice.

The hearing continues.

ENDS