A LEADING professor of dentistry yesterday criticised the procedures at a dental practice where a 10-year-old boy died after going to have a tooth removed.
Professor Philip Rood was giving evidence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on the eleventh day of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of Darren Denholm, of Armadale, West Lothian, who died after going to Peffermill Dental Clinic in the capital last October.
Mr Rood, a professor of oral surgery at King's College, London, criticised procedures for informing patients of the options, risks, and procedures of undergoing surgery under general anaesthetic.
When asked his opinion on the procedure at Peffermill of the anaesthetist going through this information with the patient, rather than the dentist, he said: ''I think that the system put in by Mr Maurice Beckett (the clinic owner) was totally improper.''
He was also asked his opinion on the practice of a parent signing a consent form at a dental reception desk to which he replied: ''There is no justification for that at all. That is clearly very poor practice.''
Professor Rood said also that syringes used at Peffermill were outdated and not appropriate for acceptable practice.
He said that, in his opinion, all general anaesthetic work should be carried out in hospitals to allow the best care in an emergency situation, and that there should be a specific regulatory body to continuously monitor dentists.
Professor Rood also said that the number of general anaesthetics given in the UK was higher than in other developed countries, partly due to patient demand. He said: ''It is acknowledged that general anaesthetic seems to be provided at a rate that is not consistent with the rest of the world. We should bring it in line with other countries. Any death that arises because of a breakdown in the system is unacceptable.''
He also told the inquiry that, if an anaesthetist had called for a local anaesthetic injection when a patient was still not under after receiving a general anaesthetic, he would consider it ''professionally outrageous''.
He said: ''If a patient, in this situation it is a child, is moving, the correct procedure would be for the anaesthetist to say, 'Stop, let me get control of the situation again and make sure that the patient is properly anaesthetised'.''
He criticised the dentist, Mr Bob Shields, who had referred the boy for a tooth removal after hearing he had recommended the tooth be pulled without carrying out a further examination at the time.
Earlier, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, Mr Finlay Scott said: ''There is interest in the fact that not only can locums not be suspended under hospital procedures, but doctors who are suspended by their employer can continue in private practice.''
The inquiry continues.
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