Mr Walton also swore and stuck two fingers up at difficult customers, it was claimed.
If he didn’t like the look of someone, he demanded to look in their wallet or purse to check they had the money to pay for the treatment, the General Dental Council heard.
Giving evidence, dental nurse Nicola Groom said: ‘He just thought it was a big joke. When you were in the reception area, we had disabled patients downstairs waiting for the surgery, and Matthew would just walk in belching and he just thought it was amusing.’
Walton, who is charged with misconduct, worked at the practice in Whitchurch, Shropshire, between August 2006 and December 2007.
Ms Groom said his behaviour was fine if patients ‘had status, like a doctor’. But she added: ‘If they were from a council estate, his whole attitude was completely different. He would show them no respect and the way he would speak to them – it was appalling, really.’
She said he made rude gestures behind patients’ backs on a daily basis.
‘If he didn’t approve of what the patient was saying, or they were asking too many questions, he would go behind the dental chair and do “V” signs behind their backs,’ she said.
Under stress, his language would deteriorate, often swearing if he struggled to remove a tooth, for example.
Walton admits belching and breaking wind in front of staff but denies he did it during appointments or in front of patients.
He admits swearing in front of staff but denied that he used foul language in front of patients.
The hearing in central London continues.
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