In1973, Luis Fairman launched his dental technology career. At first, Fairman was just another professional in the dental field. That all changed a few years later when his company—Bodmin Dental Lab—won the contract to provide a key prop for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. If you haven’t seen the movie, you may be at a loss. For those who have seen this Roger Moore classic, they know exactly what prop Fairman designed: the villain’s teeth.
False Teeth, False Dentist
In the film, the arch villain—a megalomaniac named Karl Stromberg—employs a notable henchman nicknamed Jaws. The 7-foot Richard Kiel who played Jaws was already physically imposing. But it would be the henchman’s metal teeth that would make Jaws the iconic villain that Bond fans have come to know. There’s just one problem with this story: Luis Fairman was an unregistered dentist!
The British General Dental Council (GDC) has pursued legal action against Fairman, who is now 58 and runs Precision Dental Technology, supplying specialist metals and plastics to the dentistry industry. When confronted with the GDC’s prosecution, Fairman admitted unlawfully claiming to be a dental technician having never registered in the UK to work as one. By law, all dentists, orthodontists, dental nurses, dental technicians and hygienists must be registered with the GDC to work in the UK. GDC fined Fairman £500 and ordered to pay £500 towards costs as well as a £50 victim surcharge for breaching the Dentists Act 1984.
Fairman’s Side
Fairman has said that his deception wasn’t intentional. Instead, these charges have arisen out of a “technicality”. What he means is that he refers to himself as a “dental mechanic,” one who repairs and fabricates copies of dentures. He says that in this role he practiced legally from 1978 to 2008, at the time referring to himself as a “dental technician.” According to him, “The GDC started registering everyone that moved in dentistry in 2008 and I said no thanks, I don’t want to be involved in that.” As such, Fairman began to call himself a “dental mechanic” since ‘technician’ meant he had to register. Fairman blames the GDC’s prosecution on a “slip of the tongue.” In a YouTube video he made last November entitled “NHS Dentistry – Ed’s story”, he accidentally called himself a dental technician because—from the years ’78 to ’08—he legally was one. East Cornwall Magistrates Court heard this claim and followed suit.
It’s an unfortunate story, but there is a bright side to Fairman’s story. His Precision Dental Technology produces anti-snoring products under its Snorebond brand, which has helped many sufferers in the U.K.
