A Dutch dentist who confiscated a patient’s false teeth after he failed to pay his bills is in trouble with the national dentists’ association for his unusual approach.

The dentist called the patient in for his six-monthly check-up, then removed the teeth and demanded payment within a week, local paper De Gelderlander said. The patient made a formal complaint.

‘We understand he wants his money but this is not the way to go about it,’ the NMT told the paper, before describing the dentist’s action as ‘inappropriate’.

However, the paper says, the NMT has been unable to persuade the dentist to change his approach and has now involved a formal mediator. The patient, meanwhile, has accused the dentist of theft.