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At the age of 24, Amanda sustained severe damage to her teeth in a domestic violence incident, and the Perth mother's dental health never recovered.
Last year, in her late 50s, she decided to dip into her superannuation savings to fund the dental work she had delayed for so many years.
After shopping around and getting quotes from several dentists, Amanda paid $60,000 in late November 2024 to Perth Dental Rooms for a full set of dental implants.
Just over a month later, before her work had begun, the director of the company that owned the clinic, David Hurst, died by suicide leaving an estimated 130 patients including Amanda out of pocket with work either not started or incomplete.
According to lawyers from Slater and Gordan, who are assisting some of the affected patients, Hurst withdrew more than $7 million from the company prior to his death. The company was facing bankruptcy and was placed in liquidation, leaving limited options for patients to recoup lost money.
Advocates say cases like this have highlighted the urgent need for reforms to the way that dental work is paid for across the industry.
Over 100 patients have been left out of pocket after the death of dentist David Hurst.
Patients left in the lurch
Slater and Gordan's medical law practice leader Sarah Marshman says many patients are in "physical, financial and emotional pain" following Hurst's death.
"A lot of them had paid quite a lot of money either privately or through their superannuation for treatment that was either never completed, never started or completed not at standard," she says.
Hurst was convicted of defrauding the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom of tens of thousands of dollars before later coming to Australia to practice.
Many of the patients feel ashamed, angry, and misled, and they've lost both money and trust
Sarah Marshman, Slater and Gordon medical law practice leader
Marshman says during Hurst's time at the practice, many of Perth Dental Rooms' patients were subjected to "aggressive" social media advertising on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram encouraging them to withdraw their superannuation early to pay for dental work.
As CHOICE reported last year, the number of early super withdrawals to pay for dental work is skyrocketing with social media marketing playing a major role in the rising number of applications.
Marshman says the process for affected patients to attempt to get their money back will be a "long road". "Many of the patients feel ashamed, angry, and misled, and they've lost both money and trust," Marshman says.
Meanwhile Amanda has no idea where her $60,000 is.
"I wanted a nice smile for 30 years and now that dream has been taken away from me," Amanda says.
The new owners of Perth Dental rooms are making efforts to assist patients who have been left out of pocket by the previous ownership.
New owners take over
Perth Dental Rooms has since been sold to new owners, who do not have any connection to the previous ownership. CHOICE is not alleging any wrongdoing on the part of the new ownership.
"We are deeply sympathetic to the many people affected by Mr Hurst's unethical and illegal conduct. While the new ownership is not legally or contractually responsible for treatments performed prior to our acquisition, we felt a moral duty to assist those impacted where possible," the new owners tell CHOICE in a statement.
They added that support included consultations and new dental records to replace inadequate documentation left behind and "in many cases offering heavily subsidised treatment of up to 30%–80% off regular fees"
"In some cases, completely free dental care has been paid for at our own cost. Noting that no pre-paid funds were transferred to us at sale and there has been no assistance from government," they say.
Hurst's not the only case in WA
Unfortunately, this is not the only case in Western Australia of something going wrong in the dental industry in recent months.
In June, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) issued its first ever public warning that named a specific dental practitioner, following new legislation intended to protect public health and safety that allows the agency to refer to problem practitioners by name.
Western Australian dentist and dental nurse Peter Terzi, also known as Peter Taylor, was suspended from both professions in February 2025, but Ahpra warned that he may be continuing to present himself as a registered dentist or nurse.
There is little to no protection for when things go wrong. Professional indemnity insurance covers some work that might be faulty, but it doesn't cover the non-delivery of services
Clare Mullen, Health Consumers' Council WA
The industry regulator Ahpra said he was also facing criminal charges before the Western Australian courts for allegedly practicing without registration, adding that he has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Health Consumers' Council Western Australia executive director Clare Mullen says they have been contacted by several of Peter Terzi's clients who had prepaid for work which can now no longer be completed.
She says that both Terzi's and Hurst's cases highlight major gaps in the consumer protections in the dental industry, where patients are often asked to prepay tens of thousands of dollars for work.
"There is little to no protection for when things go wrong. Professional indemnity insurance covers some work that might be faulty, but it doesn't cover the non-delivery of services," she says.
A dental bond scheme could offer a solution
Mullen says she would like to see the introduction of a bond system, in which a government body holds the dental fees and releases it to the dentist when the work is successfully completed. The system would be similar to the way residential tenancy bonds are held.
"The dentist can access the money once the work is completed, but if anything should prevent the work from being completed you can get it back, it essentially remains your money, until the work is done," she says.
Amanda supports the idea and says it would have saved her from losing her money.
"People shouldn't have to pay a lump sum like that, and if they do, it should be put somewhere that is completely independent from the practitioner until the work is complete," she says.
Ahpra's Dental Board says it doesn't have the power to advocate on behalf of patients in financial matters and has no oversight of the setting of dental fees.
People shouldn't have to pay a lump sum like that, and if they do, it should be put somewhere that is completely independent from the practitioner until the work is complete
Amanda, dental patient
The Board says it recently released new guidance for the use of superannuation to fund dental work after "concerns" were raised within Ahpra as well as the Australian Taxation Office.
"The significant increase in applications for future dental treatments in recent years raises concerns that some practitioners may be placing profits over patient care," the Board says.
It added that it would not be appropriate for the Board to comment on whether stronger consumer protections were needed.
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