A retired North Vancouver dentist wants his patients to know: He is not the man who is accused of running an illegal and unsafe dentistry practice, even though they have the same name.
News broke last week about a David (Tung Sheng) Wu operating out of a Burnaby bedroom, without any training or proper hygienic standards.
The Fraser Health Authority issued a statement calling on the man's patients to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
But when reporters caught wind of the alleged bedroom dentist, some went to print or air with their stories not knowing there was another David Wu who, properly qualified, practised dentistry in Burnaby and, before that, North Vancouver.
Others mistook the North Shore Wu as the man accused by the college and called him asking for comment.
"Some people are still confusing me with the Mr. David Wu of Burnaby who has been an illegal dentist," said Wu, who practised in North Vancouver from 1974 to 2000. "And I'm a little bit concerned some of those patients who haven't seen me for many years may be confusing me with that person, and that they may still think they need to go have their blood tested.. .. If they happen to be my former patients, they can rest assured. They don't have to worry or have the least concern."
Since the scandal broke, Wu has been personally calling former patients to reassure them, where possible, but the mistaken identity has left a mark, he said. "I actually had one comment on the CBC website saying. 'Dr. Wu, I can't believe you've become a shadow of a man.' That was directed to me, not Mr. Wu, so that really hurt," he said.
Wu practised in an office at Lonsdale and 16th for the first 15 years of his career before moving to an office on the ground floor of 145 East 13th Street in 1990. He sold the practice to Dr. Diana Plavsic in 2000 to retire before building a new business on Hastings Street in Burnaby more than a year later.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for David (Tung Sheng) Wu.
