Dentist struck off for hygiene failings.

A Cardiff dentist who breached "basic and fundamental standards of care and hygiene" has been struck off.

Mark Roberts ran the Splott Road Dental Surgery for 26 years until 2014 and left in 2015. He is reported as having said he no longer wanted to practise dentistry.

Following his departure, when the practice was taken over by other dentists, health officials contacted 3,245 patients warning about the risk of being exposed to blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis and offering precautionary blood tests.

The General Dental Council (GDC) found more than 20 examples of failings including reusing single-use equipment, such as aanaesthetic cartridges, typically used in root canal treatment; not cleaning instruments and not disposing of waste properly.

Mark Roberts did not attend the hearing but the GDC found his fitness to practise was impaired and struck Roberts off "for the protection of the public.”

The GDC's professional conduct committee heard evidence from dental nurses who reported that Mr Roberts' everyday practice was poor.

The committee also considered photographic evidence that showed clearly soiled equipment placed in dirty drawers which Mr Roberts used daily when giving treatment to patients.

The committee said that it found: "a wide ranging list of serious clinical failings over a protracted period of time." It added that Mark Roberts: "failed in his duty as a dental practitioner to provide the basic standard of care to his patients.”

Its report added: "The dental records demonstrated a high level of supervised neglect by Mr Roberts and a blatant disregard for the standards of the profession.

"Given the serious and wide-ranging failings found, the ongoing risk to the public and the need to safeguard public confidence in the dental profession, the committee was of the view that an immediate order of suspension was necessary for the protection of the public."