Section 51

Where a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist in respect of whom an order is made under section 50(2)(c), or an order for interim restricted registration is made under section 58(1)(b) or 60(1)(d), is judged by a Disciplinary Committee (whether, in the case of an order under section 50(2)(c), it is the Disciplinary Committee that made the order or another Disciplinary Committee appointed in its place) to have failed to comply with any of the requirements imposed on him or her as conditions of his or her registration, the Disciplinary Committee may, if it thinks fit, order —

Where a Disciplinary Committee has made an order for suspension under subsection (1)(b) or section 50(2)(b), the Disciplinary Committee may order that the registration of the person whose registration is suspended must, as from the expiry of the current period of suspension, be restricted in any manner that it thinks fit for a period not exceeding 3 years.

Where a Disciplinary Committee has made an order for suspension under subsection (1)(b) or section 50(2)(b) against a person and that person has failed to comply with that order, the Disciplinary Committee or another Disciplinary Committee appointed in its place may, if it thinks fit, order —

Where a Disciplinary Committee has made an order under section 50(2)(c), the Disciplinary Committee or another Disciplinary Committee appointed in its place may revoke the order or revoke or vary any of the conditions imposed by the order.

Subsection (1) applies to a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist whose registration is subject to conditions imposed by an order made under subsection (2) or (3) as it applies to a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist whose registration is subject to conditions imposed by an order for restricted registration made under section 50(2)(c), and subsection (4) applies accordingly.

Where a Disciplinary Committee has made an order or has varied the conditions imposed by an order under this section, the Registrar must immediately serve on the person to whom the order applies a notice of the order or the variation.

Any person who is aggrieved by any order mentioned in subsection (6) may, within 30 days after the service on him or her of the notice of the order, appeal to the General Division of the High Court against the order and there is no appeal from the decision of the General Division of the High Court.

In any appeal to the General Division of the High Court against an order mentioned in subsection (6), the General Division of the High Court is to accept as final and conclusive any finding of the Disciplinary Committee relating to any issue of professional ethics or standards of professional conduct unless that finding is in the opinion of the General Division of the High Court unsafe, unreasonable or contrary to the evidence.

Subject to subsection (10), an order made by a Disciplinary Committee for the removal of any name or for suspension of registration under subsection (1) or (3) or section 50(2) does not take effect until the expiry of 30 days after the order is made.

On making an order for the removal of any name or for suspension of registration under subsection (1) or (3) or section 50(2), a Disciplinary Committee may, if it is satisfied that to do so is necessary for the protection of members of the public or would be in the best interests of the registered dentist or registered oral health therapist concerned, order that his or her registration in the appropriate register be suspended or that his or her name be removed from the appropriate register immediately.

Where an order under subsection (10) is made, the Registrar must immediately serve a notice of the order on the person to whom it applies and if that person was present or represented at the proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee, the order takes effect from the time the order is made.

Where the person concerned is neither present nor represented at the proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee, the order made under subsection (10) takes effect from the time of service of the notice of the order on that person.

An order of a Disciplinary Committee, other than an order for the removal of any name or for suspension of registration under subsection (1) or (3) or section 50(2), takes effect from the time the order is made.

Despite anything in this section, where a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist has appealed to the General Division of the High Court against an order of a Disciplinary Committee under subsection (7), the order does not take effect unless the order is confirmed by the General Division of the High Court or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by the General Division of the High Court or is withdrawn.

While any order of suspension of registration remains in force, the person concerned is not to be regarded as being registered under this Act, even though the person’s name still appears in the appropriate register, but immediately on the expiry of such order the person’s rights and privileges as a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist are revived as from the date of the expiry provided that the dentist or oral health therapist (as the case may be) has complied with all the terms of the order.

Where a registered dentist or registered oral health therapist is not found or judged by a Disciplinary Committee to have been convicted or guilty of any matter mentioned in section 50(1), the Disciplinary Committee must dismiss the complaint or matter.[41