A Cranbrook dentist has been suspended for eight months and fined $2,000 for engaging in a sexual relationship with a patient.
A College of Dental Surgeons of B.C inquiry committee accepted Cranbrook dentist Dr. Ernst Schandl's admissions that he committed professional misconduct, including sexual misconduct, when he engaged in an inappropriate and unprofessional personal and sexual relationship with his patient for approximately four months.
The committee also said it accepted Schandl's admissions that he committed professional misconduct in failing to determine the patient's health status and adequately maintain the patient's records, including not recording adequate information about the patient's medications and treatment providers and not updating medical history.
The college began investigating Schandl in 2018 after he self-reported a sexual relationship to the college.
"The patient also submitted a complaint about Schandl several weeks later," the decision said.
Schandl must complete a professional boundaries and ethics course and review the college's dental recordkeeping guide.
Schandl has been registered with the college since 1995 and has no prior disciplinary history.