Three properties in Roxburgh Park and Meadows Heights have been raided because of sub-standard dentistry practices.
The supervisory body for health practitioners, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), executed a search warrant at a house in Yaralla Court, Meadow Heights, on June 13 and found evidence that dental treatment had been provided on site.
Its inspection found evidence of poor hygiene practices, inadequate infection control and substandard care.
Two more search warrants were carried out five days later in Bicentennial Crescent, Meadow Heights, and Preston Avenue, Roxburgh Park, after a tip-off that dental work had also being carried out at the premises by unregistered dentists.
Charges are yet to be laid but AHPRA has passed on its concerns to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer, Dr Finn Romanes, said he was concerned that further patients have been put at risk of contracting a blood-borne virus because of poor infection control practices.
“It is important that anyone who received treatment from any unregistered individual has their teeth examined by a registered dentist so that any oral health issues can be identified,” he said.
The raids closely follow a raid on a Rocklands Rise, Meadow Heights address where Muhammet Velipasaoglu was performing dental work without having the formal qualifications to do so in Australia.
Charges were laid against Velipasaoglu earlier this month for a range of statutory offences including pretending to be a dentist, using a protected title, carrying out ‘restricted dental acts’, that by law, can only be provided by registered dental practitioners, and for possession of prescription-only medicine.
Velipasaoglu will front the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court on August 14.
An AHPRA spokeswoman said Velipasaoglu was registered as a dentist in Turkey. The organisation’s investigations had not yet confirmed whether he practised as a dentist there.
When Velipasaoglu’s case was made public on June 10, 85 people who had sought dental treatment at his Meadow Heights property called the DHHS seeking advice.
The DHHS is appealing to anyone who received dental treatment at Yaralla Court or Bicentennial Crescent in Meadow Heights and Preston Avenue in Roxburgh Park to call 1800 356 061 between 9am and 5pm to assess the potential risk of transmission of infection and provide advice to patients and their general practitioners.
