Dentist suspended, fined for not supervising oral health therapist

SINGAPORE — A dentist and an oral health therapist have been suspended over procedures that were performed on a patient without proper supervision, the Singapore Dental Council said in a press release yesterday.

Dentist Sharifah Nazilah Syed Taha was slapped with a S$20,000 fine and suspended from practice for three months, after pleading guilty to four charges. Two were for failing to supervise oral health therapist Patricia Tan Chu Fei while Tan carried out dental procedures on a patient on June 16 and 20 in 2014. Another two were for offences under the Dental Registration Act, for allowing Tan to perform procedures “beyond her allowable scope of work”, the council said.

The council did not reply by press time to TODAY’s queries on what these procedures were. Sharifah’s suspension will begin on March 10.

For her part, Tan was fined S$8,000 and given a six-month suspension, which will start on Feb 26.

She also pleaded guilty to four charges: Two were for performing dental procedures on a patient without a registered dentist supervising her. Another two were for performing dental procedures beyond her allowable scope of work.

Another four charges for each of them were taken into consideration during their sentencing.

The Singapore Dental Council said that the pair were “censured for their lapses” and ordered to produce a letter of undertaking to the council not to repeat their offences. Sharifah was also ordered to foot the legal expenses of the disciplinary proceedings.