A Norfolk dentist who was guilty of a 'continuing pattern of misconduct' for at least eight years has been struck off.Stephen Cramp gave a teenager �5 and told her it was for being a 'good girl', and also called her mother 'the old bat' and suggested she leave her broomstick at home.

AN AYLSHAM man who practiced as a dentist in both Cromer and Norwich has been found guilty of a 'continuing pattern of misconduct' for at least eight years and has been struck off.

Stephen Cramp gave a teenager �5 and told her it was for being a 'good girl', and also called her mother 'the old bat' and suggested she leave her broomstick at home.

He has been struck off by the General Dental Council for a string of charges including charging for private work and claiming again for the treatment on the NHS and giving treatment he was not qualified to do.

The dentist, who qualified in 1973, treated patients at the West Street practice in Cromer and the Heartsease Dental practice in Norwich until November 2007.

GDC panel chairman Fiona Simpson said he had come to their attention before. She said: 'Since 1999 there has been a continuing pattern of misconduct which has not been remedied or addressed. This misconduct was so serious and fell so far below acceptable standards expected of dental practitioners that the committee considered the only sufficient and proportionate sanction to be erasure.'

Cramp, of Holman Road, Aylsham, did not attend the hearing, claiming ill health. David Bradly, for the GDC, said: 'In the course of one appointment he gave the patient a �5 note and informed her it was for being a good girl.'

He had told the girl's mother she would not be needed in the treatment room. On another occasion he referred to the mother as 'the old bat' and suggested she 'leave her broomstick at home'.

During the treatment between 2003 and 2005 he also failed to consult the mother or ask her about her daughter's medical history. Prof Fraser Macdonald, of King's College London, told the misconduct hearing: 'It looks as though he hasn't quite realised the job's complexity. It's as though he doesn't know what he's capable of delivering.'

Cramp was also found guilty of not making a record of another patient's periodontal condition, failing to provide adequate advice and treatment, failing to tell her NHS treatment was available, failing to carry out assessments and failing to make clinical records.

He charged a third patient �400 for private treatment while also making a claim on the NHS. He also failed to take an X-ray before starting work on her crown in 2006 - which fell out seven months later, in March 2007 - and did not tell her about NHS options.

David Stonehouse, deputy chief executive for NHS Norfolk, said: 'Mr Cramp had his contract to provide NHS services withdrawn in November 2007. We applied for and had granted a national disqualification which prevented him from working anywhere in the country as an NHS dentist in February 2008.

'In the light of the serious issues raised NHS Norfolk decided to refer it to the General Dental Council. Final removal from the GDC register means that he is unable to practice either private or NHS dentistry.'