Dentist suspended over alleged misconduct continued to promote business in Jersey

Wednesday 01 March 2017

A Hungary-based dentist continued looking for business from Jersey clients after he was struck off the Irish Register of Dentists, and suspended from practicing in the UK while accused of misconduct, Express has learned.

The General Dental Council's suspension of Csaba Borbáth does apply in the Channel Islands, but the regulatory body accepts it doesn't actually prevent him from looking for new clients, as long as he doesn't treat them.

Mr Borbáth -  a dentist for over 20 years, who regularly visited the Channel Islands to promote his business – was banned from working in Ireland in February 2016 after the Irish High Court ruled that no, “...other measure short of erasure [from the Register] would adequately protect the public from harm.”

Held over six days in 2013 and 2014, an Irish Dental Council inquiry into Mr Borbáth’s conduct found him guilty of carrying out “extensive over-treatment” of a patient’s jaw, and providing a 14-linked bridge that, “…fell seriously below the standard of treatment expected from a practitioner of your training and experience.”

He was also said to have failed to identify the patient’s need for a root canal and did not deliver appropriate aftercare. 

Pictured: Dr Borbáth's profile on the Dental Center Hungary website. (Screenshot: Bailiwick Express)

Under UK General Dental Council (GDC) rules, Mr Borbáth should have informed the regulatory body of the investigation into his practice and subsequent erasure from the Register in Ireland. However, he failed to do so, leading to an interim suspension in April 2016 by the GDC, and sparking a second inquiry on 20^th February this year, which saw him suspended for nine months with immediate effect.

In their conclusions, the Professional Conduct Committee wrote: "The Committee has determined that it is necessary for the protection of the public and is otherwise in the public interest to impose an order for the immediate suspension of your registration. The Committee has identified ongoing risks to patients and wider public interest concerns in its decisions on misconduct and impairment. It therefore considered that it would be inconsistent not to impose an immediate order in the circumstances."

Mr Borbáth’s clinic ‘Dental Center Hungary’ – known as the ‘Dr Borbáth Smile Centre’ in Hungary – advertised in the local media just four days prior to the GDC's ruling and while he was still subject to an interim suspension in the UK. Additionally, he had visited the Island to promote his business in March and September of 2016, while he was banned in Ireland, and on the later visit, also suspended in the UK. 

A spokesperson for the GDC confirmed that their rulings apply within the Channel Islands, but admitted that there was a “grey area” when it comes to soliciting for business:

"There’s an agreement between the Channel Island legislatures and the GDC as a whole - meaning that, even though they aren’t a part of the UK, all dentists in the Islands have to be registered with the GDC and compliant with its rules and regulations.”

“What it sounds like Mr Borbath might be involved in wouldn’t necessarily be in breach of his suspension. The suspension prevents him from carrying out dental work but not the ‘business of dentistry’ – for example, managing a practice or soliciting for business. So – as long as he isn’t providing dental services within the UK/Channel Islands he is complying with the terms of his suspension.”

The Hungary-based practice, which specialises in implants and restorative dental work, attracts prospective clients with prices up to four times cheaper than in the UK.

Jersey patients first attend one of the twice-yearly 'introductions' held on the Island, before being invited to have the work done in Hungary while staying in either a nearby hotel or apartment.

VIDEO: Mr Borbáth appears in a promotional video for the practice. (Source: YouTube/Image HD Studio)

 It is unknown at this stage whether Mr Borbáth will appeal the ruling, but his sister and Network Director for the centre, Dr Georgina Borbáth, said that the case was, "ongoing".

She told Express: "[Dr Borbáth] is not questioned because of mistreatment or misconduct, he is questioned about administrative things."

"We only work in Hungary and we travel to different countries to introduce our activities in Hungary so there’s not even dental consultations carried out in Jersey. We just show videos of the Dental Implant Center in Hungary discuss patients what we are doing here, because the Hungarian government rated our dental surgery in the fifth biggest dental implant centres of the country and we have patients travelling to us from different European countries for 20 years by now," Ms Borbáth explained.

She continued: "This is an ongoing thing and this is why we decided it’s better not to go to Jersey this time, because we understand how strict your regulation system is and we do not want any conflict here... We do everything to keep our high standards here, and we do not want any conflict with the Jersey authorities or the Jersey Dental Society, who understandably is not happy with other specialists visiting the Island."