A DENTIST in Abergele has been struck off after dishonestly receiving approximately £50,000 from five of his patients.

Dr Razvan Cimpean, who also goes by “Dr Razvan Campeanu”, had his name erased immediately from the General Dental Council register on September 12, following a hearing led by the Professional Conduct Committee.

There were also “a number of clinical failings” found regarding the treatment he provided to seven of his patients.

He had demonstrated a “shocking lack of insight”, said Natasha Tahta, counsel for the General Dental Council.

READ MORE:

Rhyl go-karting company in administration after 26 years of business

End-of-summer pub crawl to take place in Rhyl in aid of RNLI

Zip World’s Skyflyer in Rhyl brought down as heavy winds deflate it

The committee heard that Dr Cimpean held a self-employed associate contract with “MyDentist” during the time period in question (January 2018 – December 2019), and had done so since 2013.

An allegation of dishonesty was proven against him, in that he failed to make complete records on the “R4” software system at the practice where he was working, to conceal from MyDentist that he was taking payments directly from five patients.

This contravened the contractual arrangement between him and MyDentist, whereby all payments for the work he carried out were taken by the practice.

Dr Cimpean, who has been on an interim suspension for the last two years, admitted not making complete R4 patient records, but denied that this was to conceal from MyDentist that he was taking direct payments.

In the cases of four of the five patients, he stated he believed he was entitled to the payments they made to him, and that he was recovering funds which MyDentist had wrongfully withheld from him.

More than £100,000 was owed to him by MyDentist, Dr Cimpean claimed.

He said that, for these four patients, he did not have sufficient time to complete their records, and that for the fifth, he had no access to the computer system.

The committee found that, for one patient, Dr Cimpean recorded “very little” in their computer records, despite the “expensive nature” of their treatment; the total cost of which was £14,000.

Dr Cimpean reiterated that it was due to tensions with MyDentist that led him to behave as he did, including its refusal to sell him a dental practice in July 2018, when he was the only potential buyer.

He told the committee that, in 24 years as a dentist, he had never had any patient complaints, and said that one of the patients in question had considered him the best dentist he had ever had. 

In relation to the clinical matters, the committee found that Dr Cimpean had “failed to provide an adequate standard of care” to four of the seven patients concerned.

It was also found that he provided a “poor standard of implant care” to two other patients.

Other clinical failings identified by the committee included in radiography, reporting on CT scans, the provision of written treatment plans, assessment and diagnosis, and obtaining informed consent.

There were also shortcomings in the standard of his record-keeping in respect of all seven patients.

The committee described Dr Cimpean’s failings as “serious, both individually and cumulatively”, as well as in “basic and fundamental aspects of dentistry”.

He was told he had caused “significant potential harm” to the five patients whose computer records he did not fully complete in order to conceal that he had taken their payments, because there was “no or an inadequate record of the treatment that they had received”.

Dr Cimpean had demonstrated “dishonesty at the higher end of the spectrum”, the committee found.

Consequently, the committee concluded that only immediate erasure would serve as an appropriate and proportionate sanction for Dr Cimpean.

He has a 28-day window to appeal the sanction.

Following the conclusion of the hearing, Dr Cimpean told the Journal of his intention to appeal.

Dr Cimpean said: “Having dedicated 16 years in this country to delivering the highest standards of dentistry and patient care, as has been testified by thousands of patients who I have treated, I am devastated to find that I have been ruthlessly manipulated into this invidious and unwarranted position. 

“Whilst I am unable to comment on the specific details involved at this moment in time, I can confirm that my legal team and I are preparing to file my legitimate appeal against this arbitrary decision.

“At a time when this country is in desperate need of experienced and reputable dentists, such as I, this is a decision which jeopardises not only my personal livelihood, but that of all of us.”

A spokesperson for MyDentist said: “We’re incredibly disappointed that our and our patients’ trust were abused.

“We would like to reassure patients that the behaviour of one individual does not reflect that of the practice team who work hard to provide the highest standards of dental care and treat patients with the uttermost respect and integrity.

“We acted quickly when concerns about Mr Cimpean’s behaviour were raised.”