Female patient claims Harley Street dentist, 28, ‘used me and got rid of me’
Female patient claims Harley Street dentist, 28, ‘used me and got rid of me’ as he fights for his job after ‘wining and dining her in the Savoy before they had sex hours after her appointment’
- Patient A claims she had not pursue the dentist and did not send him messages
- Dr Sahil Patel is an associate dentist at the Harley Street Smile Clinic in London
- He took patient to dinner at Savoy after completing her veneer treatment
- Hearing told the pair then went to hotel and had sex hours after the treatment
- Patel could face a ban by General Dental Council if his ‘fitness to practise was impaired by misconduct’
A female patient claims her Harley Street dentist ‘used me and got rid of me’ when he wined and dined her at the Savoy before having sex with her in her hotel room hours after treating her.
Dr Sahil Patel, 28, twice met up with patient A at a pub after providing her with his mobile phone number.
He then took the patient out to dinner at the Savoy in London on November 1 last year after completing her veneer treatment.
They carried on drinking until after midnight, when the dentist said he could not get home ‘as there are no underground trains,’ the General Dental Council heard.
Dr Patel then went to the patient’s hotel room across the street and had sex with her, the tribunal heard.
However the patient denied she had pursued Dr Patel and said she ‘did not send him any messages that were proactive.’
She said ‘I never once asked that man out or did anything to spur him on. I did not ask him out.
‘He had lied to me about the train to get into my hotel room. No part of me was leading him on. I did not send him any messages that were proactive.’
Harley Street dentist Dr Sahil Patel, 28, wined and dined a patient at the Savoy then had sex with her in her hotel room hours after treating her, a hearing was told
Asked by Dr Patel’s counsel if she was ‘at least equal in making the running’ for their dates, she replied ‘absolutely not.’
Concluding her evidence of the first day of the hearing, Patient A added:’ My dentist used me and got rid of me.
‘I was shocked. His behaviour was rotten.’
During the hearing the patient explained she had told the dentist she would be in London in October 2019 and suggested they could meet up.
She said: ‘He said he wanted to take me out’
The hearing was told that the patient had described emails from the dentist as probing into her life.
She said they had a mutual interest in property development and were both landlords and any meeting was not of a sexual nature but over their shared interests.
Patient A denied that she flirted with the dentist in a series of text messages they swapped.
She also denied that she was flirting by telling him she needed to shower before they met up.
Patient A said that after they met at a pub in west London she understood to have been on a date with the dentist.
‘When I said about being a bad patient, he said I could not have been as I would not have asked you out.’
‘When he asked me out it was a date. He said he had to keep it quiet as he was a dentist. I was very flattered and very happy.’
Dr Patel twice met up with the woman at a pub after providing her with his mobile phone number, the second time taking the patient out to dinner at the Savoy on November 1 last year after completing her veneer treatment (stock photo)
The hearing was told Patient A sent an email to Dr Patel saying she was looking forward to him not being her dentist so she could get to know him better.
Counsel repeatedly suggested she was flirting with Dr Patel, but Patient A insisted she wasn’t leading him on.
Prior to meeting for dinner at The Savoy Patient A had suggested that if he wanted to change out of his work clothes before meeting up he could do so in her hotel room.
‘This was a polite offer and nothing in it,’ she said.
Counsel said by putting a kiss at the end of the text she had been flirting with him – a suggestion she denied.
During the hearing, the court also heard how the dentist was said to have referred to the woman as a ‘Jewish princess’ – he denied using the phrase.
The disciplinary hearing is being held in Marylebone, central London, near The Harley Street Smile Clinic, where Dr Patel is an associate dentist.
They carried on drinking until after midnight, when the dentist said he could not get home ‘as there are no underground trains,’ the General Dental Council heard. Dr Patel then went to the patient’s hotel room across the street and had sex with her
Dr Patel emailed ‘patient A’ his mobile number on 27 September last year and they went for a drink at the White Horse Pub in Parsons Green, north London.
He then met her again on 3 October at the same pub, kissed her and the Savoy date was arranged, it is claimed.
Sam Thomas, for the GDC, said: ‘On 1 November 2019, Mr Patel the registrant dentist had sex with patient A.
‘She had travelled from the south coast where she lived to London to make an appointment with the registrant on 1 November.
‘This was the third of three appointments in order to have veneers placed on her teeth.
‘The appointment on 1 November finished at approximately 3pm and at 7.15pm on that same day the registrant and patient A met at the Savoy Hotel.
‘They are at the restaurant and they moved to an adjacent bar where they drank until after midnight.
‘They pair then went across the road to a hotel opposite the Savoy and had sexual intercourse.’
Mr Thomas told the misconduct panel the dentist’s lawyer has raised the issue as to whether patient A was a current patient of Dr Patel.
‘The council say that patient A was due to be seen in 12 months time following the third of the three appointments.
‘So we accept that on 1 November 2019 the treatment had finished but there was due to be a review in November 2020.
‘Further the council say that there was a five-year guarantee with regard to that treatment.
‘Consequently the council say that she was a current patient. The other issue then for you to consider is at what point the registrant Mr Patel’s actions became sexually motivated.’
Dr Patel accepts as fact he slept with the woman but denies she was a patient at the time. He also denies telling her he could not get home because there were no trains and calling her a ‘Jewish Princess’. Pictured: The General Dental Council building
Mr Thomas said the woman first attended the practice on 20 August 2019 after a previous online consultation.
‘It was the first day that she attended Mr Patel and it was her first treatment session.
‘Two days later, Mr Patel emailed the patient from his personal email address.
‘The next appointment was on 18 September 2019. Following this there was an exchange of communication, an exchange of emails.
‘On 27 September 2019 the registrant provided patient A with his mobile telephone number.
‘The issue with you becomes when he provided that personal telephone number to patient A was that sexually motivated and in due course.’
Dr Patel has admitted kissing the woman at the pub but says it was on the cheek and not on the lips.
The Harley Street Smile Clinic lists former Everton and Scotland striker Andy Gray among its clients as well as TOWIE stars including Lauren Pope, James Lock, Frankie Essex and Kirk Norcross.
The charge sheet alleges his actions were ‘sexually motivated’ and Patel could face a ban if the panel finds his ‘fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct’.
Dr Patel graduated from the University of Bristol, achieving merits in Restorative dentistry, Orthodontics, and Paediatrics.
He worked in Cornwall for a year before moving to the Harley Street practice in September 2016.
According to the Harley Street Smile Clinic’s website he ‘established himself as a leader in cosmetic dentistry, and his wealth of experience has included creating the smiles of several reality TV personalities, Members of Parliament, professional athletes, and social media influencers.’
The post continues: ‘Aside from dentistry, Sahil serves in the Royal Navy Reserves, and he has appreciated an introduction into scuba diving, skydiving, cross-country skiing, and triathlon.
‘He has also committed himself to Performing Arts since the age of 10, leading to choreographing and performing for various organisations, including the BBC Proms. Today, he continues to practice several dance styles and train for selected triathlon events.’
Dr Patel accepts as fact he slept with the woman but denies she was a patient at the time.
He also denies telling her he could not get home because there were no trains and calling her a ‘Jewish Princess’.
The hearing continues with some of the complainant’s evidence being heard in private.
