Dentist who filed down teeth of elderly in nursing home guilty of assault Sydney dentist Andrew Istephan has been found guilty of assault for filing down the teeth of nursing home patients without their consent. Picture: Craig Wilson Source: News Limited AFTER being sent to fix the teeth of several nursing home residents, Sydney dentist Andrew Istephan found himself embroiled in a very unusual criminal trial. The 34-year-old was accused of going into the nursing homes and filing down the teeth of a dozen elderly residents without their consent. The Liberal councillor and former deputy mayor of Hurstville pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of assault occasioning actual harm between September and November 2011. The father of three was stoic throughout the seven-week trial at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court as his former patients gave evidence against him. Ealinor Huxley said if Istephan had asked her if she wanted a new crown, she says she would have refused. "I would have probably said, 'In a few months or so, I'm going to be 100, so I don't see why it's necessary'," Ms Huxley said in a taped interview played during the trial. Ms Huxley, now 101, was one of just three patients who was capable of giving consent for her teeth to be filed down in preparation for a crown, but she said Istephan never asked her if she needed anything done. "I don't remember him saying anything to me," Ms Huxley said, adding she was left upset after the treatment, which left her with a gap in her teeth. Nursing home resident Ethel Walker was another patient who could give consent and she told the court that when he began filing down her teeth, she yelled at him to stop. "I said I didn't want to look like a cannibal," Ms Walker said via audio-visual link. I kept saying ... stop what you are doing. Another nine patients were not capable of consenting because of dementia or other health issues and their families were not consulted about the dental work either. But Istephan said that when a patient was not capable of giving consent, he gained permission from staff at the facilities. The court heard Istephan had been contracted by the organisation Elderlink, which provides health services to nursing homes, outsources procedures and then takes fees from the money provided under government schemes. After deliberations that lasted more than a week, a jury on Wednesday found him guilty of five counts of assault occasioning actual harm. The other seven could could not be agreed on by the jurors and may go to another trial though Istephan's lawyers indicated that they will apply for those charges to be dropped. His wife shook her head after the verdict was handed down while Istephan showed little emotion. Judge David Frearson called it an "unusual" case before telling Istephan to surrender his passport. Istephan is allowed to practice dentistry in a limited capacity, the court heard, and the Hurstville Council website indicates that he remains a councillor. He will be sentenced on October 25.