The Morning Drill: July 19, 2012

Dentist, David Martinus Reiakvam

Good Thursday morning!

On to today's dentistry and health headlines:

Accused Temecula Dentist No Longer Has License

A Temecula dentist accused of having sexual relations with two teenage girls apparently no longer has a state license to practice as a dentist.

A Sept. 19 trial in Riverside County Superior Court is set for David Martinus Reiakvam Jr., 44, who could face more than 50 years in prison if convicted of 13 counts of lewd acts on a child under 15 and two counts of oral copulation of a child under 18.

Reiakvam, who ran Reiakvam Family and Cosmetic Dentistry on Rancho California Road, is free on $200,000 bail.

According to the Dental Board of California, Reiakvam's dental license expired earlier this year and as of July 17 his license is delinquent.

The Dental Board, which operates under the state Department of Consumer Affairs, defines "delinquent" as, "Licensee has failed to timely renew the license or failed to meet all requirements for renewal."

The state Dental Practice Act requires dentists to be licensed. Reiakvam had held a dental license since November 1998, according to the state board's verification records system.

After his arrest in late 2010 the Dental Board sought a court order restricting his dentistry practice while the criminal process was under way. On January 3, 2011, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields issued an order banning Reiakvam from practicing dentistry work on minors "until the close of escrow of his dental practice."

Ex-employee may have led to investigation into Colo. oral surgeon accused of reusing needles: Report

Colorado-based oral surgeon Dr. Stephen Stein's alleged reuse of needles and syringes at two of his dental practices may have been discovered during an unrelated investigation into prescription fraud.

CBS Denver reports that a former employee of the oral surgeon may have blown the whistle on Stein before he lost his license, tipping state investigators to look into Stein's alleged decade-long practice of re-using needles and syringes.

The employee, who had previously contacted CBS Denver last spring, said Stein was ordering drugs under patients' names and she questioned the practice, telling the station she wanted to let the state know of her concerns. An investigation by the state's dental board led to an agreement in which Stein gave up his license to practice in June 2011. It was during this probe that the state discovered the alleged practice of reusing needles, according to the station.

Investigation: Dental employees charged with embezzling $115K

Two Tidewater Dental Office employees embezzled $115,000 from the business over a period of several years, according to Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Del Routh.

Investigators spent six months looking into the case before arresting Boiling Spring Lakes residents Jada Willoughby Atkinson, 42, and April Ferris Winch, 48.

Warrants were obtained and both women were charged with embezzlement greater than or equal to $100,000 and felony conspiracy, Routh said. Atkinson and Winch were each in the Brunswick County Detention Center under $20,000 bonds at the time of this post.

Chatsworth dental assistant wins half-million lottery prize

A Murray County dental assistant won a half-million dollar prize in the Georgia Lottery is Debra Ellis of Eton won a $500,000 prize playing the instant game Cash Deluxe.

Georgia Lottery representatives presented Ellis, 52, with an oversized check Wednesday at Gallons 2 Go, 321 N. Third Ave. in Chatsworth, the store where the winning ticket was sold.

"I started out the door but stopped and decided to get one," Ellis recalled.

The lucky winner looked at the ticket a few times before sharing the good news with a store clerk.

"The clerk asked, ‘Have you won $500?' " she said. "I told him $500,000, and he hugged me."

Enjoy your morning!