Dentist back in Inuvik after being temporarily suspended in Quebec over vulgar comments

One of two owners of the Western Arctic Dental Clinic in Inuvik is back in the community after being temporarily suspended from dentistry in Quebec last month.

Viktor Dorokhine, who has co-owned the clinic since 2010, says he's working to fix equipment and is preparing to re-open the clinic for patients in early April.

In a phone call, Dorokhine refused to be recorded by CBC but said he won't be working as a dentist in Inuvik.

It isn't clear yet whether Dorokhine's Quebec suspension affects his ability to practice in the N.W.T.

Documents filed with the Disciplinary Board of the Order of Dentists of Quebec show Dorokhine was attending a conference in Montreal in January 2023 when he made numerous inappropriate comments about sex and race to dental students who were in attendance.

He pleaded guilty to the allegations and has been suspended from performing dentistry in Quebec for a three-month period effective Feb. 29, 2024. He must also pay a fine of $10,000.

Dorokhine was also a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Dental Association during the incident and was removed in April 2023.

In documents filed with the disciplinary board, Dorokhine admitted that he told a dental company representative: "I can do whatever I want to you. I am Viktor! I am Viktor! I am on the board; you will call me doctor! I am a doctor and I can cut you open and do anything I want to you."

Dorokhine also admitted to making multiple vulgar, sexual comments to people at the conference, some of them female students.

The documents state he also kissed a company representative's hand and told her she was "sexy."

Dorokhine told the disciplinary board the comments were not made during the business hours of the conference, but rather during private events at bars and clubs in the evening hours of that week.

New dentist hired to work in Inuvik 

Dorokhine told CBC he has hired a dentist to come to Inuvik and work out of the community to serve clients.

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The clinic has been closed for months with no dentist in town. Dorokhine said the clinic hasn't been able to fully recover since 2020, when his entire team left the North during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last few years, locum dentists have been brought to Inuvik to help the community. The last visiting dentist was in November of last year, when the clinic had a pipe burst and water flooded half of the building before it was discovered.

Dorokhine said the damage has been significant and he and his team are looking into their options on how to renovate.

While he waits to see how much of the damage his insurance will cover, he said he is doing what he can to prepare the clinic to reopen.