The Fraser Health Authority is recommending anyone who received dental work from Tung Sheng Wu in the practice he conducted out of his Burnaby home get tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
Wu, who also goes by the name David Wu, isn't a registered dentist in British Columbia and the provincial College of Dental Surgeons (CDSBC) says he may have been practising illegally, possibly as far back as the 1990s.
Following a woman's complaint of poor treatment from Wu, the CDSBC hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on his home and then obtained a court order to enter the home and stop Wu from practising.
When CDSBC investigators and the RCMP entered the residence on May 29, they found a dental office in the bedroom and a "significant amount" of dental equipment that may not have been cleaned or sterilized properly or may not meet Health Canada standards. They also found almost 1,500 client files, many of them allegedly word-of-mouth referrals from within the Chinese-Canadian community.
"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 blood borne viruses to recommend testing for all clients," said Dr. Michelle Murti, the medical health officer for Fraser Health Authority.
The CDSBC is also urging Wu's patients to see a real dentist for proper treatment.
"The material seized from Mr. Wu's residence does not come close to meeting our standards for infection control," said Dr. Peter Stevenson-Moore, the president of the CDSBC. "He put his clients' health at risk for his own gain."