A London dentist whose patient bled to death after having five teeth removed has been suspended for misconduct. Tushar Kantibhai Patel, of Purley, south London, extracted the teeth of Patient A in July 2017 despite her informing him she was taking the anti-clotting drug Warfarin for a rare blood disorder.
The General Dental Council (GDC) found that Patel should have sought further advice before carrying out the procedure. The patient died from severe bleeding from her mouth. An inquest determined the cause of death as haemorrhage from the tooth extraction site, brought on by Warfarin treatment and dental extraction.
On the day of the extraction, Patient A was admitted to King's College Hospital with severe bleeding. This was stopped with gauze, pressure and local anaesthetic, and she was discharged with advice not to rinse for 24 hours. However, the bleeding resumed at home, and she collapsed the next morning, dying in hospital.
Patel's dental records showed no bleeding risk assessment was carried out at any of her five appointments. He also failed to record any discussions about her complex medical history. Patel, a dentist of 30 years, admitted to all allegations and expressed sincere remorse over the patient's death.
Since the incident, Patel has undertaken a self-audit of 15 extraction cases, reported to a supervisor monthly, and observed the management of medically compromised dental patients at a hospital. The GDC suspended him for misconduct.
