About 12,000 dental patients in Sydney are at risk of having contracted HIV or other blood-borne viruses after an investigation found equipment has not been sterilised and cleaned properly in practices across the city.
NSW Health has confirmed six dentists have had their registration suspended and one dentist’s practice has been closed after patient complaints in November and December last year led to the discovery of breaches in infection control.
Patients of the Gentle Dentist in Campsie and the Sydney CBD, and Dr Robert Starkenburg’s clinics in Surry Hills and Bondi Junction, who have had invasive surgeries are being told to get tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C.
Starkenburg’s practice has been closed.
NSW Health’s director of health protection, Jeremy McAnulty, emphasised there was a “low risk” of infection and to date the department had found no evidence that any patient had been infected by any blood-borne virus as a result of the breaches.
Asked why patients were being informed only now, although investigations began last year, McAnulty said there had been an “intensive” investigation and the patients were being written to individually.
“It’s useful for people to know whether or not they’re infected with blood-borne viruses, there are treatments available,” he said.
The first complaint, against Starkenburg’s practice, was lodged in mid-November and he had his registration suspended in December. A complaint was made against the Gentle Dentist in mid-November, and after an investigation advice was given to the practice on how to make its infection control more stringent.
In February, it was discovered the breaches in sterilisation and cleaning of equipment were more severe than first thought and the director of the Gentle Dentist, Samson Chan, had his registration suspended, along with four other dentists at the practice. A further six have had conditions placed on their registration.
Sine 2005, 11,251 patients have had invasive procedures at the Gentle Dentist and are at risk. Because of inadequate patient records at Starkenburg’s practice it could not be established how many were at risk and all 800 are being told to get tested.
The Gentle Dentist remains open.
Shane Fryer, from the Dental Council of NSW, said dentists needed better training in infection control and sterilisation of equipment.
“While we believe the vast majority of dentists in New South Wales are complying with the guidelines, we recognise there may be a need for a greater education within the profession and to that end the Dental Council is working with our stakeholders to improve the knowledge and understanding of our guidelines which includes infection control,” he said.
Asked if he would get root canal treatment at the Gentle Dentist today, he said: “Yes, I believe so.
“We’re here because people should have peace of mind. The risk, if indeed there is a risk, is low, the vast majority of dental practitioners do the right thing, they’re professional healthcare providers and they abide by the guidelines. The community can continue to have confidence in the dental system in NSW and the delivery of dentistry in NSW will be in a safe way and to a high standard,” he said.
The dentists’ union, the Australian Dental Association, issued a statement saying the risk of contracting blood-borne infections at the dentist was “extremely low”.
The association’s NSW president, Deb Crockrell, said despite the low risk of infection, the association took infection control procedures extremely seriously.
“There are very rare cases. We have nearly 4,000 members in NSW and the ACT, performing more than six million procedures each year. The overall standard of care is outstanding. The risk of patients being infected by blood-borne diseases is extremely low.”
Starkenburg told Fairfax Media he was “very sorry” about the situation and his age, 75, had made it difficult for him to keep up with changing regulations. He said he hoped to be able to practise again.
“In the last eight years, they have upgraded the protocols a lot. I was a little lax on getting the latest protocols … [but] I have [since then] taken a couple of courses and taken steps to rectify the problem,” he said.