Health authorities are warning anyone who may have been treated by an illegally practising Burnaby dentist to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.
The warning came Wednesday morning at a press conference announcing that the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C. had seized a "significant amount" of dental equipment from a man who appears to have been practising dentistry illegally from a home on Southwood Street.
The college was alerted to the problem after a woman who said she was a patient of Tung Sheng Wu, also known as David Wu, complained about the treatment she had received.
The college found he was not a registered dentist and, after hiring a private investigator to conduct surveillance on the home, got a court order to enter the home to gather evidence.
College investigators and police searched the home on May 29 and found a dental office in a bedroom, along with about 1,500 client files.
The college says Wu appears to have relied on word-of-mouth referrals, particularly in the Chinese-Canadian community.
"The material seized from Mr. Wu's residence does not come close to meeting our standards for infection control, which leads us to believe that he has put his clients' health at risk for his own gain," said Dr. Peter Stevenson-Moore, president of the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C.
Dr. Michelle Murti, medical health officer for Fraser Health, urged all patients of Wu's to get tested for hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV.
"Because Mr. Wu was not a licensed dentist and because he was not following the infection control procedures expected of a licensed dentist, we believe there is sufficient risk of exposure to bloodborne viruses to recommend testing for all clients," she said.
Anyone who received treatment from Wu is asked to call a public health nurse through the toll-free line at 1-855-895-7425. Blood tests can be done for free.
The health authority is also contacting clients, where possible, from Wu's records.
Jerome Marburg, registrar and CEO of the college, stressed that Wu is "neither licensed nor competent" to practise dentistry.
"If you received treatment from him, we urge you to visit a real dentist to have any unsafe materials he used removed and to get proper dental treatment," Marburg said.
Wu may have been practising as early as the 1990s. Before Burnaby, he operated out of a location in Port Moody.
