A DENTIST has appeared in court accused of dishonestly inflating claims for payment for the treatment of patients.Paul Tildsley, 38, of Geneva Road, Ipswich has denied seven offences of obtaining money transfers by deception.

A DENTIST has appeared in court accused of dishonestly inflating claims for payment for the treatment of patients.

Paul Tildsley, 38, of Geneva Road, Ipswich has denied seven offences of obtaining money transfers by deception.

David Wilson, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday, claimed the alleged offences happened while Tildsley was working as a dentist at a surgery in The Walk, Ipswich in 2001.

The alleged offences came to light after a dispute between Tildsley and Alison Brown, who was the owner of the practice.

She had looked into his dealings while working at the surgery and reported her concerns to the Dental Practice Board, which was responsible for paying dentists for NHS work, said Mr Wilson.

He claimed that Tildsley had dishonestly obtained inflated payments for treatment by claiming he had fitted gold crowns on patients' teeth when in fact he had used non-precious metal crowns.

He also claimed that Tildsley had dishonestly obtained inflated payments by claiming he had used special trays for obtaining denture impressions from patients when in fact he had used standard reusable trays.

Mr Wilson said the over payments did not involve a large sum of money and each over payment only amounted to around £10.

However, he said the alleged offences resulted in patients and the public as taxpayers footing the bill for what he described as “minor dishonesty”.

After his arrest Tildsley said that as he had his own tray making kit for taking denture impressions, he felt entitled to claim a higher amount from the DPB.

Referring to the alleged over-payments for crowns he claimed he had simply mistaken the term used on the claim form. He denied acting dishonestly.

The trial continues today.