An inquiry by NHS fraud investigators has uncovered evidence that thousands of gold fillings and crowns being used by dentists contain as little as 2% of the precious metal.

The investigators are widening their inquiries after identifying 16 dentists in the London area who are alleged to have passed off nickel fillings as gold.

One of the dentists under investigation is John Dineen who practises in Leyton, east London. Dineen, who trained in Ireland and has been working as a dentist for 14 years, has been questioned by police and is on police bail until September. He was on holiday in India last week and was unavailable for comment. A number of his patients have already been interviewed.

The allegations surfaced after the new NHS Dental Fraud Team, which was established by the NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) last year, investigated concerns about the possible use of cheaper metals.

Dental patients are now offered a variety of products but despite the popularity of white fillings for cosmetic reasons, many people are still choosing gold.

The fraud team’s inquiry found that several thousand people could have been cheated by dentists who can claim as much as £105 for just one gold filling or crown.

While NHS rules stipulate that dentists should use 60% gold, some patients were given predominantly nickel fillings which were just 2% gold — enough to make it look real but insufficient to give it the strength and flexibility of the precious metal.

It is alleged that dentists who made this saving using the cheaper metal then claimed back the full amount from the NHS. The investigation team estimates that the London frauds alone could have cost the NHS £2m.

If found guilty the dentists could be struck off by the General Dental Council and might also face imprisonment. The council yesterday said that it would liaise with the police.

It is also likely that the CFS would pursue convicted dentists through the civil courts to recoup the money. In April, Mohammed Sheikh, a dentist who ran 14 surgeries in Nottingham and Derby, was ordered to repay £1.3m after the CFS successfully sued him in the High Court for running an expenses racket claiming thousands of pounds for false emergency call-outs.

Yesterday Jim Gee, chief executive of the CFS, said: “Where fraud is found, we take the toughest possible action against those involved. They should be in no doubt that we will not tolerate NHS resources, intended for patient care, being lost in this way.”

The CFS, which spends £5m a year fighting fraud, has saved £295m for the NHS since it was set up four years ago. It has successfully prosecuted 160 criminal cases, won 215 civil cases and claims to have cut patient fraud by 36%.

This week it launches a campaign to combat fraud in agency nursing following the separate prosecutions in the past year of two nurses, Shauna Bowen-Thomas and Oukha Persaud, who were each jailed for 18 months. Other high- profile prosecutions by the CFS included that of Donald Marquis, chief executive of Surrey Oaklands NHS trust, who was also jailed for 18 months.

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