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On 25 November 2024 the registrant informed the General Dental Council (GDC) that she had been convicted at Wycombe Magistrates Court on 17 August 2021 of driving a motor vehicle with alcohol in excess of the prescribed limit, contrary to s.5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It was thereafter alleged that the registrant did not inform the GDC of this conviction in a timely way as required by relevant professional guidance, and that in not doing so she acted in a misleading and/or dishonest manner. As a result, the GDC’s Registrar has raised an allegation that the registrant’s fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct and conviction. In considering these matters it was determined by the Case Examiners that there is a real prospect of most the factual allegations being found proved by a Practice Committee, but not that the registrant’s alleged actions were dishonest. It was further determined by the Case Examiners that there is a real prospect of the statutory grounds of conviction and misconduct being established. The Case Examiners also determined that, based on the available evidence and due to the registrant’s level of insight, remorse, and remediation with regard to the alleged conduct, there is no real prospect of a Practice Committee finding her fitness to practise to be currently impaired. The Case Examiners reminded themselves, in respect of the conviction, that the registrant has been dealt with by the criminal justice system, and that it is not their role, or the purpose of the fitness to practise process, to punish her for a second time. However, the Case Examiners considered that the registrant’s overall conduct, involving as it did not notifying the GDC of this in a timely manner, may have been significantly below the standards expected of a dental professional. To therefore close the case without formal action would fail to take into account the need to declare and uphold proper standards of behaviour and conduct, and the need to maintain public confidence in the dental professions. The Case Examiners have consequently given regard to their Indicative Outcomes Guidance (February 2018) and consider it is necessary to issue a warning to the registrant regarding her future conduct. Furthermore, the Case Examiners consider that publication of the warning for a period of 9 months is appropriate and proportionate in the circumstances and will ensure that the registrant and members of the wider dental professions are aware of the importance of maintaining appropriate standards of behaviour and conduct. The registrant is reminded that this warning will form part her fitness to practise history, even after it is no longer published, and may need to be disclosed as required

The Case Examiners warn the registrant that: • the commission of a criminal offence can have an adverse effect on the wider public interest, and this conduct should not be repeated. Any further criminal convictions will be viewed seriously and will likely call into question her fitness to practise • she should, as required by the General Dental Council’s professional guidance Standards for the Dental Team (2013): o maintain appropriate standards of behaviour in her personal life and ensure that her conduct, both at work and in her personal life, justifies patients’ trust in her and the public’s trust in the dental professions (as per Standard 9.3) o inform the General Dental Council immediately if she is subject to any criminal proceedings anywhere in the world (as per Standard 9.3.1)