The Morning Drill: December 5, 2012

Dentist Dr. Sang Park

Good Wednesday morning!

On to today's dentistry and health headlines:

Merced dentist accused of sexual assault.

Sang Park, 43, is accused of sexually abusing several patients while they were sedated. Park was charged with six counts of sexual assault last week, and pleaded not guilty.

Even though he's not allowed to practice dentistry right now, Dr. Sang Park was still at his office Tuesday. So when he left, Action News confronted him.

Action News: "Dr. Park, you are accused of sexually assaulting your patients, is any of this true?"

Without a word he drove off. But he was less than abrupt with others who showed up at his office. Carol Cotton's family sees Dr. Park for their dental needs.

"He opened the door, and it was actually the doctor himself. Very concerned looking," Cotton said. "He looks crestfallen, that would be the word I would use to describe the look on his face."

The doctor is facing charges of sexually assaulting patients while they were sedated. Four women have come forward, including two who worked for the doctor.

The employees told Merced police they were abused 'after hours' while they were receiving dental treatment. Employees told investigators Dr. Park offers them deep discounts on dental work.

Suspended dentist suspended again after seeing patient.

A Warwick dentist who signed a voluntary agreement to give up his practice in October had his license pulled last Wednesday.

Dr. Frederick S. Lury signed the consent order on Oct. 26 that arose after inspectors found some irregularities in the way he was managing his practice. The inspectors complained that Lury, who was in the process of selling his practice and retiring from dentistry, had some misbranded narcotics and an expired solution when they conducted their inspection on Sept. 20.

According to the voluntary agreement, Lury was to stop practicing dentistry after Nov. 2 and to surrender his certificate to prescribe controlled substances at the same time. The agreement was explicit in saying that signing the agreement was neither an admission nor a denial of the inspectors’ finding on Sept. 20. He also agreed to continue to provide care and medications for patients already in his care and to provide those patients with all necessary records or transfer the records immediately on request or when needed, presumably as the patients find another dentist.

Office bills $13 million in Medicaid claims since ’08

After numerous allegations of child abuse and fraudulent activity flooded the Rome Police Department over the weekend, detectives are continuing their criminal investigation into Children’s Dentistry of Rome, officials said on Monday.

According to the search warrant affidavit filed in Floyd County Superior Court, MCG Management Inc., doing business as Children’s Dentistry of Rome, billed more than $13 million in Medicaid claims since 2008, and some victims and other dentists alleged that dental work provided by the doctors and hygienists was unnecessary.

Employees from the dentist office issued the following statement on Monday evening: “The dentists operating their practice at the MCG facility care about patients and provide quality care. Dental visits are not always pleasant, but we believe that the practitioners will be able to show they exercised sound judgment and compassion when treating young patients with significant dental problems.”

Following complaints of improper use of restraints and improper or unnecessary performance of dental work on children, agents with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and Rome Police Department investigators executed a warrant on Thursday and searched the office for billing and medical records pertinent to the criminal investigation.

No arrests have been made in the case and Rome police Lt. Gary Clayton declined to comment on the number of reports the detectives division has received.

The affidavit listed more than 300 patients with Medicaid whose records are being thoroughly investigated.

The affidavit, written by detective Joe Costolnick, lists 11 reports of excessive dentistry work performed on 14 children that resulted in serious medical problems and trauma. Reports recounted that children left the office traumatized, scratched and bruised.

Some children were allegedly tied down on papoose boards for unnecessary dental work, and some children needed additional medical attention for improperly done dental work they received at Children’s Dentistry of Rome.

Costolnick, who is specially trained with regard investigating criminal violations relating to cruelty and abuse to children, is working with Special Agent Connie Murray with the Department of Health and Human Services who investigates Health Care fraud.

Marietta man accused of ID fraud, practicing dentistry without license

A Marietta man is free on bond after being charged with identity fraud and the unlawful practice of dentistry without a license, both felonies.

Howard Manders, 64, is a dental-lab technician, not a dentist, though he apparently helped found Manders Dental Center, at 2220 Atlanta Road, Suite 103, in Smyrna.

According to his arrest warrant, Manders was seen by different witnesses installing dentures and partials on patients on multiple occasions.

Manders is also charged with two counts of felony identity fraud.

According to his arrest warrant, Manders used dental-license numbers of two dentists to obtain an “NPI number,” which is issued to health care providers by HIPPA. The warrant does not say what Manders used the numbers for.

The office manager who answered the telephone at Manders’ clinic on Monday afternoon said that he was not practicing dentistry, and that the clinic is overseen by Samuel Collins, who is a licensed dentist.

Enjoy your morning!