A woman died in a dentist's chair because her anaesthetist was too busy talking on his mobile to pay proper attention to her condition, a jury at the Old Bailey heard.

Richard Kaul, 37, allegedly failed to follow General Dental Council guidelines on sedation and used an unapproved "backdoor" method.

He owned a practice in Dalston where he employed several dentists. However, he took care of all the anaesthetic work himself.

When Isatu Bangura, who was visiting England from Sierra Leone for her daughter's wedding, came to the surgery for some minor work on her teeth, she asked to be sedated for the whole procedure.

According to the prosecution, Kaul administered the drugs either too fast or in too great a quantity, causing Bangura to lose consciousness. She started to have trouble breathing and finally had a cardiac arrest.

Kaul took more than half an hour to call for an ambulance, the prosection alleges, and then did not accompany his patient to the hospital. She died six days later. ®

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