Oral surgeon who guided prison guard in extracting teeth of inmate granted unconditional release

Oral surgeon Dr. Louis Bourget received an absolute discharge after guiding a correctional officer in extracting the teeth of a sedated inmate. (Mark Cumby/CBC)

Dr. Louis Bourget will not have a criminal record.

The oral surgeon was charged with assault after allowing a correctional officer to extract an inmate’s teeth in October 2020. The incident was recorded by another correctional officer on his phone.

Bourget, who works in the Gander Family Dental Clinic building, was granted an absolute discharge Tuesday in Supreme Court. This is the lowest level of criminal punishment an adult offender can receive. This is a finding of guilt but no criminal conviction is recorded and there is no probation order.

In October 2020, two correctional officers from the Bishop’s Falls Correctional Center — Ron McDonald and Roy Goodyear — accompanied an inmate to the clinic.

According to the agreed statement of facts, when the patient was sedated, Bourget explained the procedure to the guards, then suggested that one of the guards remove four of his teeth. McDonald removed the teeth while Goodyear recorded the whole thing.

According to the statement of facts, Bourget said he “caught himself in a teaching moment” but regretted this decision after the procedure.

In court Tuesday, Judge Mélanie Del Rizzo said there were several elements to consider before making her decision, including the pressures of the pandemic, Bourget’s financial loss, his guilty plea, his low risk of recidivism and the fact that he took awareness training.

She also recognized the psychological harm caused to the victim due to the incident, the attacks on her physical integrity and the fact that Bourget did not report the incident.

“The punishment must be proportionate to the seriousness of the offense,” Del Rizzo said.

“A criminal conviction is not in the public interest.”

Bourget did not want to give an interview following the decision.

However, following the incident, he served sanctions from the Dental Colleges of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dr. Paul O’Brien, registrar of the Dental Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, said the issue is unlikely to arise again.

“Nothing happens after that because, unless there is a conviction, the same facts were there for the disciplinary action, so nothing has changed,” he said outside the courtroom. “We will discuss this with their legal counsel and see what they have to say, but other than that I have nothing to comment.”

Bourget has offices in Gander, northern New Brunswick and the Halifax area.

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