Todor Nenkov Nikolov

Introduction

Todor Nenkov Nikolov is a dentist on the General Dental Council (GDC) register since 17 June 2009 (number 175280), suspended from practising since April 2016 and indefinitely since April 2018 after earlier clinical misconduct findings. In July 2026 a GDC Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) erased him for dishonestly concealing his UK regulatory history from the Dental Council of Ireland (DCI) and then concealing the Irish regulator’s removal decision from the GDC.

The committee sat remotely from 6 to 8 July 2026, Mr Nikolov neither present nor represented. Mr Tom Stevens, counsel, appeared for the GDC; the committee comprised Marnie Hayward (Chair), Jonathan Farmer and Jane Jones. It found his fitness to practise impaired by misconduct, directed erasure and made an immediate order of suspension.

Background Information

In April 2016 the PCC found his clinical care of two patients fell far below accepted standards, with failings in treatment planning, radiographic practice and informed consent, and suspended him for 12 months. The suspension was extended in April 2017 for lack of insight and remedy, and in April 2018, citing persistent non-engagement, the PCC suspended him indefinitely — he remained registered but was restricted from practising.

On or around 15 June 2017, while suspended, he applied to join the DCI register, stating he was registered with the Bulgarian Dental Association and had practised in his own practice in Bulgaria for about 27 years, with no reference to his GDC registration or UK work history. Unaware of his status, the DCI admitted him on 20 December 2017.

In late May 2024 the DCI learned through the Health Service Executive, whose due diligence on a job application from Mr Nikolov included an online search that surfaced a posting about the GDC’s restrictions on him. The DCI investigated, notified the GDC on 5 July 2024 and, once the regulators confirmed he was the same person, decided on 4 October 2024 to remove him from the Register of Dentists for material non-disclosure of his UK registration and employment history. The GDC learned of it only from a DCI letter of 13 March 2025 — Mr Nikolov had not told it himself.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. The findings were made on the balance of probabilities by a GDC Professional Conduct Committee and are regulatory findings, not criminal convictions; here the committee found all four charges proved.

The GDC alleged that Mr Nikolov concealed his GDC registration in his June 2017 DCI application, and failed to immediately inform the GDC of the DCI’s 4 October 2024 removal decision, each said to be misleading, lacking integrity and dishonest. The hearing proceeded in his absence under Rule 54, the committee being satisfied the Notice of Hearing had been served on 2 June 2026 and that he had voluntarily absented himself, noting his non-attendance at previous hearings and the DCI’s October 2024 disciplinary hearing.

On the first charge, the omission was found objectively misleading — the DCI believed he had been registered only with the Bulgarian Dental Association and admitted him without further enquiries, such as a certificate of good standing — a lack of integrity and a significant departure from expected standards, and deliberate concealment, since he knew his suspended GDC status may well have swayed the DCI’s decision. It was objectively dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people.

On the remaining charges, the committee found he was obliged under Standard 9.3.3 of the GDC’s Standards to inform it immediately of another regulator’s finding against his registration, rejecting his contention, recorded in a call of 21 August 2025, that suspension meant he need not report it. The DCI’s decision letter reached his known address and email on 7 October 2024, yet he never told the GDC; the failure was misleading, a lack of integrity, and a deliberate act of concealment that was objectively dishonest.

In an email of 8 September 2025 he wrote that “I regret the omission of my UK registration details in my 2017 application to the Dental Council of Ireland and accept the regulatory findings”, said he would not seek to practise dentistry in the UK or Ireland, and took full responsibility. The committee was not satisfied this amounted to the thoughtful reflection needed to show insight, noting he had not engaged since. His dishonesty was deliberate and calculated — the concealed application was made so he could work in Ireland — and amounted to misconduct currently impairing his fitness to practise.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Impairment was found on public protection and wider public interest grounds: dishonest conduct was considered attitudinal and unlikely to be capable of remedy, there was a risk of repetition, and the public would be alarmed if impairment were not found for two pre-meditated acts of dishonesty in dealings with two dental regulators. His actions placed patients at potential risk of harm and brought the profession into disrepute.

In mitigation there was only limited acknowledgment of wrongdoing. The aggravating factors were potential risk of harm to patients, premeditated misconduct, financial gain by the registrant, misconduct sustained or repeated over a period of time, lack of insight and previous fitness to practise history. Ruling out no action, a reprimand, conditions and even the maximum 12-month suspension, it found erasure the only proportionate sanction, his calculated concealment being incompatible with being a registered dentist.

Current Status

The committee directed that his name be erased from the register; unless he appeals, erasure takes effect 28 days from deemed service of notice. The interim suspension in this case was revoked and an immediate order of suspension imposed: his registration is suspended to cover the appeal period, and any appeal leaves that order in place until the appeal is resolved.

Separately, his registration is also indefinitely suspended under another PCC direction, made in April 2018. This committee had no jurisdiction over that order and did not review or revoke it, though it was theoretically open to him to have it reviewed during the 28-day appeal period.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The erasure removes him from the GDC register — he can no longer practise as a dentist in the UK — on top of his October 2024 removal from the Irish register. The concealment would have continued but for the intervention of others carrying out checks: the matter surfaced only through a prospective employer’s due diligence, and the removal decision reached the GDC only through the DCI’s notification.

Sources

• MedicWatch, “GDC erases Todor Nenkov Nikolov over dishonest regulatory disclosures,” published 8 July 2026, updated 22 September 2026. source
• General Dental Council, Professional Conduct Committee, “Public Determination,” case CAS-212810, 8 July 2026. source
• Dental Professionals Hearings Service, hearing record for this determination. source