In a battle that started almost four ago, the Dental Board has now filed an appeal against a decision by a Board of Inquiry allowing English dentist Dr. David Thompson to continue working.

Dr. Thompson took the Dental Board to court in 2001 after learning that the Dental Board had given him a failing grade in an examination that would have cleared the way for him to practice in Bermuda.

In February that year, Dr. Thompson received a work permit to practice after being offered a job by local dentist, Dr. David Dyer.

But the board later wrote to Dr. Dyer saying that only Bermudians, or spouses of Bermudians could sit the qualifying examination ? a policy not supported by the Dental Act.

Following a complaint to Government, the board later allowed Dr. Thompson to sit the examination, but a week later was told he had failed. But he was not allowed to re-sit the exam and filed an application for Judicial Review. He alleged that the examining committee and the board were biased against him, and that the examiners were inconsistent, unfair and irrational in their evaluation of his performance in the exam.

It took almost a year, but a Judicial Review followed ? appointed under the Human Rights Act ? and October 2002, the Supreme Court quashed the Dental Board?s decision saying the examiners? evaluations of his performance was full of contradictions and that at least one of the examiners had been biased against Dr. Thompson.

Dr. Thompson is represented by David Kessaram, while the Bermuda Dental Board?s Dr. Richard Cann declined to comment on the matter.