UK - Dentist escapes being struck off

Dentist escapes being struck off
General Dental Council says a Stagsden man can carry on despite carrying out 'quack treatment'.
An 'alternative' dentist and magistrate who charged a terminally-ill patient a fortune for life-threatening 'quack treatment' has escaped being struck off.Graeme Munro-Hall, 60, a leading anti-fluoride campaigner, pulled out the motor neurone disease sufferer's mercury fillings after telling a nurse he was "going to die anyway", the General Dental Council (GDC) heard.Dennis Vickery, 54, who could hardly walk, paid the dentist thousands of pounds to have ceramic replacements after a homeopath told him his old-fashioned fillings had caused his disease.The hearing was told Munro-Hall did not make the risks of treatment clear to the patient - who had trouble breathing and could have been killed by a local anaesthetic.Mr Vickery died just two weeks after Munro-Hall, author of 'Mercury Free Dentistry, A Passport To Better Health', carried out his treatment. But despite being found guilty of serious professional misconduct last year, Munro-Hall was told he was free to continue practicing dentistry after insisting he will give greater consideration to patients' medical history.The father-of-three, of Stagsden, Beds, had been criticised for not paying enough attention to patients' health before providing them with dental treatment.Asked by the GDC how he would react if faced with an unwell patient who refused to co-operate with the dentist's new guidelines, Munro-Hall replied: "Now, if the patient does not let us consult other health care practitioners, we decline treatment in such a situation without exception.