Suspension concealed

A Greek dentist who tried to register with the Dental Council of Ireland while suspended by the General Dental Council in the UK has been struck off.

Panagiotis Papadimos, who qualified in Thessaloniki in Greece in 1981, first registered as a dentist in the UK in 2005. He was removed from the register in January 2006 after failing to pay the annual retention fee, but was re-registered in February the following year.

Following a complaint to the GDC and subsequent investigation by the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) in February 2012, Mr Papadimos was suspended for 12 months.

The suspension was continued for a further 12 months in March 2013 following a review, and again in March 2014. In March 2015 an indefinite suspension was placed on his registration.

On 25 January 2014, Mr Papadimos applied to the Dental Council for registration and, after council staff checked his name against the GDC register, he was reported to the UK regulator.

As a result, the GDC’s PCC found his conduct to be misleading, deliberately misleading and dishonest. A statement from the PCC read: “A finding of dishonesty is a particularly grave matter for a dentist, given the trust which the public places in the profession, and the need to maintain confidence in the same.

“There is nothing before the committee which suggests that Mr Papadimos has any insight into the implications of his misconduct on the reputation of the profession. On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates that his misleading of the Dental Council of Ireland was wilful and deliberate and he intentionally sought to conceal the details of his practice in the UK, which would have revealed his ongoing suspension from the GDC Register.”