The General Dental Council has "expressed disapproval" of a dentist who made a "grave error" in sedating a 16-year-old girl alone and after hours at his surgery.

Muzzafar Zaman, 41, offered her a trial run of a sedative before she had treatment at his practice at 2 High Street, Brighouse.

Zaman was found guilty of serious professional misconduct but the General Dental Council's disciplinary panel found it sufficient to give him an expression of disapproval only.

Chairman Barbara Duffner said: "You have acted in a way that falls seriously short of the standards expected of a registered dental practitioner.

"By these acts you exposed the patient and yourself to unnecessary risk - this was an irresponsible act.

"Your own poor judgement has led to your presence before the GDC. Had you obtained a chaperone it's probable you wouldn't have been subject to these proceedings.

"A failure to record both the patient's consent and the actual procedure added to this rash, reckless and wholly unprofessional behaviour.

"The committee considers the risk of harm to the public of allowing you to continue to practice to be negligible compared with the benefit of allowing you to continue treating the public."

Zaman took over at the practice in 1993 at a time when the building was run down and undecorated.

Patient A, a 16-year-old girl, turned up unexpectedly at his practice on February 3, 2005, when Zaman was alone.

She requested dental treatment and Zaman gave her a trial tun of inhalation sedation.

Zaman has been cleared by a jury of sexual touching the girl and no charges were brought against him by the GDC in relation to indecency.

He admitted items of equipment were dirty, some areas of the surgery were dusty and instrument trays were unclean.

Zaman also admitted that impression moulds were not cleaned properly, rubbish bins within the surgery did not have lids and that used injection ampoules were placed on the lid of a bin.

The dentist denied the claim when he gave evidence and said his practice became dirty because he was so busy and had poor time management skills.