Sydney dentist scare: Hygiene breaches put 11,000 people at risk of HIV and hepatitis

• Thousands of worried patients left in the dark
• 40,000 dental patients face anxious wait
• Who is dentist Samson Chan

NSW health authorities fear 11,000 patients from two Sydney dental clinics could have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of poor cleaning and equipment sterilisation.

Fairfax Media understands NSW Health has already begun contacting the thousands of people who visited The Gentle Dentist practices, owned by dentist Samson Chan at Campsie and Sussex Street in the central business district, to warn them of the breaches it has discovered in infection control at the clinics.

It will inform patients who had invasive procedures at the clinics over the past 10 years there is a small risk they could have been infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV. It will also inform local GPs in the Sydney area.

Health authorities are also contacting patients who visited another unrelated dentist, Robert Starkenburg, who operated practices in Surry Hills and Bondi Junction and is listed by ACON as providing "HIV-friendly" bulk-billed dental work for people with the condition, which can cause serious oral health problems.

The Gentle Dentist clinic at Campsie. Photo: Facebook.Credit: Facebook

The ministry refused to comment ahead of a press conference it will hold on the issue on Thursday.

But Fairfax Media understands at least five dentists – including Dr Starkenburg and four from The Gentle Dentist clinic – have already been suspended from practising. Another three from The Gentle Dentist have had conditions placed on their registration.

Dr Chan, the owner of The Gentle Dentist, employs 21 dentists across the two surgeries. He declined to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media, but it is understood many of the dentists he employs are young, with little experience with infection control.

In contrast, Dr Starkenburg told Fairfax Media he was "very sorry" about what had happened, but, at 75 years, his age had made it difficult for him to keep up with changing regulations.

"In the last eight years, they have upgraded the protocols a lot," he said. "I was a little lax on getting the latest protocols ... [but] I have [since then] taken a couple of courses and taken steps to rectify the problem."

He said no one had been infected with any condition at his clinic, and he hoped now that he had updated his skills he would be able to practise again.

The Australian Dental Association NSW also declined to comment on Wednesday except to say that patients concerned that they may have been affected can call the helpline 1800 610 344 from 9am Thursday.

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