A professional conduct board found Jamie Kerr, who previously ran Broadwater Gental Dental in Broadwater Street West, provided ‘substandard’ and ‘dishonest’ care, but stopped short of striking him off. A General Dental Council (GDC) committee found evidence of misconduct in more than 15 instances when Mr Kerr appeared before them at the end of April. Charges proved included that he did not tell a patient he charged her for treatments he did not provide, according to a report of his hearing on the council’s website. A committee spokesperson told him: “You failed to do this on more than one occasion. “The committee considers that failing to keep the patient informed at every stage of treatment is unprofessional.” “The committee found your actions were dishonest.” The committee found Mr Kerr ‘caused or permitted’ the patient to be charged a ‘significant amount of money’ for treatment he knew she did not receive. He was also found to have failed to give patients enough information in multiple cases. The committee also found evidence of serious misconduct across multiple charges for failing to diagnose and treat tooth decay, and providing substandard root canal treatment. Mr Kerr was told aggravating factors in his case included: “the potential risk of harm to patients, dishonest conduct, your wilful disregard for the GDC standards and guidance, your lack of insight, breach of trust and repeated and persistent misconduct.” Despite the serious charges against him, the committee was satisfied that with ‘proper reflection’ and learning he might be able to return to practice. Mr Kerr narrowly escaped being banned from being a dentist for life. The committee said Mr Kerr’s case ‘falls on the cusp of meeting the criteria for erasure’. Instead, Mr Kerr was banned from practicing for 12 months ‘in order to maintain public confidence in the profession and in the interests of patient safety’. The committee told him he would have the opportunity to reflect on his ‘misconduct and address shortcomings’ during the suspension, after which his case will be reviewed. Members of the public should note that Dentalessence, which now occupies the same address in Broadwater Street West in Worthing, is in no way affiliated with Mr Kerr.