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Burnaby fake Chinese dentist’s patients warned to get tested for infectious diseases

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by vancouverfun, Aug 8, 2013.

  1. vancouverfun

    vancouverfun Full Member

    Underground practice operated in Burnaby for past 10 years




    Burnaby fake dentist’s patients warned to get tested for infectious diseases

    Underground practice operated in Burnaby for past 10 years

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    Tung Sheng Wu, also known as David Wu, is shown in an undated image. — Submitted photo/College of Dental Surgeons of B.C.
    Fraser Health is warning patients to get tested for potential exposure to infectious diseases after shutting down the practice of a man who worked as a dentist without a licence and used improperly sterilized equipment.

    According to the health authority, Tung Sheng Wu, also known as David Wu, 62, operated an underground dental practice out of a home on Southwood Street in Burnaby for the past 10 years without any known training or a licence, and used equipment that was not cleaned or sterilized to meet Health Canada infection-control standards.

    Fraser Health is urging patients of Wu to get tested for blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

    Investigators believe Wu may have been practising dentistry illegally as far back as the 1990s.
    “It’s scary stuff,” said Jerome Marburg, CEO of the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C. “Quite honestly, it scares us.”

    At a news conference Wednesday, Marburg said the college doesn’t know if Wu ever trained as a dentist.

    Marburg said the college shut down Wu’s practice and seized dental equipment from the bedroom where he operated his practice after an investigation that began in April.

    The college was alerted to Wu after a woman who said she was a patient complained about the treatment she received from him earlier this year.

    The college realized that Wu is not a registered dentist, and hired a private investigator to carry out surveillance of his home. Through the investigation, the college was able to seek a court order to gather evidence from the home.

    Along with the RCMP, college investigators entered the home on May 29, finding dental equipment and 1,500 client files.

    Dr. Michelle Murti, medical health officer for Fraser Health, said there was “gross lack of basic hygiene” on the premises.

    “It’s very difficult for us to estimate exactly what the risk is, but we are recommending that each and every person who has been a client ... get tested immediately,” Murti said.
    Marburg said the client files were more like financial transaction records than the files dentists are required to keep.

    The files, some of which date back nearly 20 years, indicate that at least one-third of Wu’s clients were children.

    Fraser Health is working to translate the documents, which are written in Cantonese, and will be sending letters to the addresses on file to inform patients of their potential exposure and of the need to get tested.

    This is not the first time Wu has been investigated for working as a dentist without a licence.
    In 2003, the college obtained a court injunction ordering Wu to stop practising dentistry out of a home on Ravine Drive in Port Moody. The investigation was prompted after a lawyer reported to the college on behalf of an anonymous individual.

    After that investigation, Wu promised to leave the country within a few months, said Marburg.
    The college suspects Wu sought patients through word-of-mouth referrals. “He’s preying on people,” said Marburg.

    Marburg said Wu’s whereabouts are unknown, but investigators don’t believe he has left Canada.
    Anyone who has ever received treatment from Wu is asked to contact a public health nurse at 1-855-895-7425. Testing is free for patients who don’t have a B.C. Care Card. For more information, visit

    http://www.theprovince.com/news/Fake+dentist+patients+warned+tested+diseases+like/8759461/story.html
     

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