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ORILLIA, Ont. — A central Ontario dentist is defending his practice after public health officials said two patients who had received dental services at his clinic tested positive for hepatitis C.
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit confirmed a child is one of two individuals who tested positive for Hepatitis C after receiving dental care at Joe Philip and Associates dental office between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 18, 2017.
SMDHU first made a recommendation that patients be tested for Hepatitis and HIV back in February after an investigation by the Public Health Unit revealed patients who attended the clinic between the listed dates may have been exposed to dental instruments that were not cleaned and sterilized properly.
After the original recommendation for testing was made, the health unit received a report that two individuals tested positive for Hepatitis C.
Philip has continued to defend his practice, and has served the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit with a $10-million lawsuit over what he says was a “mishandling of the investigation into his dental clinic.”
In a statement released Friday, Philip says the sterilization procedures at his clinic met or exceeded the requirements by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, and said the claims made by the health unit were “irresponsible.”