A DENTAL technician who previously had an “unblemished and commendable” career has been ordered to work under supervision for the next 15 months following four complaints from patients about poorly fitting dentures.

Christopher Gower, who currently works at Petre Dental in Clayton-Le-Moors, must work under numerous conditions while an investigation by the General Dental Council is conducted, following an Interim Orders Committee ruling.

The complaints were made in 2020 and related to care provided between June 2018 and December 2019, and were from four “vulnerable, elderly” patients.

At the time the complaints were made, the hearing - held on March 25 - heard Mr Gower felt his place of work, believed to be Artisan Smiles in Colne, had a “toxic environment”.

Each of the four patients said their dentures were ill fitting; one person’s were "too large and porous", another’s which cost £875 were "so painful he could not eat".

The third said Mr Gower had cancelled appointments, complained about the length of time he took to get her dentures, and also that he admitted to her he had dropped and broken her dentures.

The fourth said the colour of her dentures was “dull and grey” and “looked really fake”, and also “left her in agony and unable to eat”.

She claimed he did not resolve the issues and also took her records with him so no other dentists could see them, and when getting a second opinion it was concluded her dentures were “poorly made”.

In the hearing, a Mr Renteurs, on behalf of Mr Gower, said he had served a lengthy career in the field of dental prosthesis, starting in 2004 before qualifying as a clinical dental technician in 2014.

Over his 18-year career, Mr Gower has had an “unblemished and commendable” career with no other complaints raised against him, and he has continued practising with no restriction since the incidents were raised with no further complaints have been made.

On behalf of the General Dental Council, a Mr Micklewright said there was evidence of “significant concerns relating to multiple patients over a relatively short period of time, with evidence those patients were provided with a significantly poor standard of care”.

The committee decided in favour of Mr Micklewright saying there was “clear evidence of a risk of harm to patients” if Mr Gower were to practise without restriction, however this can be reviewed while the investigation continues.

The 15-month interim conditions placed on Mr Gower include having to be supervised whenever he provides dental services, carrying out logs of treatments and aftercare which must be sent to the GDC, and have weekly meetings with his supervisor regarding the quality of his work.

The order can be reviewed after six months; the GDC’s investigation into complaints against Mr Gower is ongoing.

Petre Dental in Clayton-le-Moors was approached for comment. The Lancashire Telegraph attempted to contact Artisan Smiles in Colne several times for comment but was unsuccessful.