The fear of dentistry is a global phenomenon but what happens when a technician masquerades as a dentist and operates on innocent unsuspecting victims? That is the story of Tette Tossu who until Thursday, July 25, 2013, was the official dentist at the Hope Dental Works in James Town and Korlegonno. He was arrested at one of his shops in Korlegonno a suburb of Accra, just when he was about to begin a full root canal surgery on a journalist posing as a patient. Tossu had walked in late with his dark shades on; in blue tattered jeans and locally manufactured slippers ready to roll. He had three artificial teeth plated in gold as if to set an example to his patients that that is the way to go. His patient had been waiting for several minutes; He had been ‘transferred’ from the James Town branch of the Hope Dental Works to the Korlegonno Branch just to see the officer in charge. Five minutes after walking in, Tossu quickly invited his patient to the improvised consulting room which had a not too dilapidated dental state of the art machine. He put on his gloves and so did his assistant, a Senior High School leaver. He switched on the light grabbed his needle ready to begin the root canal surgery. But luck run out for him. Much to the relief of the patient cum journalist, the police investigators with the Accra Regional Police Command walked in to halt the process and to arrest the suspect. Tossu confessed he was not a dentist but a technician. He however lied he was only going to do washing for his patient. How the story began On July 15, this reporter received a call from an informant who wanted to give an information about a suspected quack dentist but on condition of anonymity. His relative had visited the Hope Dental Clinic with a tooth problem. He was operated upon and given a medicine to take. According to the informant, his relative collapsed and died shortly after taking the medicine. His family would not want the issue to be made public. So the informant decided to get in touch with a reporter at Myjoyonline.com to assist with investigations. This reporter after the information, decided to do a preliminary investigation and so paid a visit to the Hope Dental Works in James Town on Friday, July 19. At the heart of James Town, in one of the old colonial buildings, sat the Hope Dental Clinic. It was opened in 1978 and was handled by a professional dentist who was the grand-father of Tossu. He died in 2000. Having understudied his grand-father for years, Tossu decided to take over the administration of the Dentistry when his grand father died. He had washed the mouths of thousands; operated on hundreds of others; it was the turn of this reporter. On the first visit, the reporter was welcomed by an extremely beautiful lady who asked what the ailment was. Having being ushered into a dilapidated consulting room, the lady who gave her name as Edith, followed. She asked the reporter/patient to open his mouth and he obliged. With no gloves on, Edith with her bare fingers began to explore, in a very crude attempt, to find out what ailment the patient could be suffering from. Having seen one of the tooth artificially filled, Edith who was later joined by Tette Tossu concluded the tooth would have to be refilled and a root canal performed. The patient then asked how much it was going to cost? Tossu said the original price is 200.00 cedis but he was ready to take 150.00 for the surgery. The patient then stated he was not ready with that amount but promised to return for the surgery when he raises the 150.00 cedis. The patient hurriedly stepped out of the clinic. His mouth full with saliva. He could not spit it out; neither could he swallow it. The thought of Edith's fingers in his mouth for no other reason but dental services got his intestines turning in his stomach. The saliva bloated in his mouth. He wanted to throw up but at least not in the taxi he boarded from James Town back to the office. The informant picked up an information again that there was a branch of the Hope Dental Works at Korlegonno, in Accra. The reporter again went there to see how the place looked like. It was a little more modern with some sophisticated equipment. Medical and Dental Council After the experience at the Hope Dental Clinic, one did not need any professional expertise to know something had gone amiss. But the Medical and Dental Council had to hear about this. The reporter then proceeded to speak to Dr Eli Atikpui who is the Registrar at the Council. He made available to the Registrar a prescription the informant had given to him- the prescription which was given to the person who allegedly collapsed and died after taking the medication. On seeing, the prescription with a professional eye, Dr Atikpui was convinced Hope Dental works was quack. He detailed two investigators to follow and get Tette Tossu arrested.