Where Was The Colorado Dental Board?

It took the Colorado Dental Board until June 2009 to finally order Michael A. DeRose ‘retire’ his license to practice dentistry and tell  him he is never to apply for a new license anytime in the future.

In the Order from the board it cites the two disciplinary actions taken against DeRose in North Carolina.  In December 2005 his license was suspended for 180 days for doing more than 6 pulpotomies in one visit on children at his Medicaid Dental Centers, now called Smile Starters in North Carolina.

I’m thinking 6 is still outrageous!  Think you could have 6 teeth worked on in one session?  How about being tied down, and given 6 root canals??!!  The level of lidocaine alone to keep a patient pain free seems to me would be at a dangerous level.  But they don’t worry about that, since they could care less if they even have a supply of lidocaine on hand it appears.

Then in April 2007 settled with the government for $10 million with Dr. Tish Ballance, and still every state where he was licensed let him keep his licenses.

Michael’s dad, Dr. Eddie let his licenses just expire.

William Mueller, one of the original cast of characters was forced to ‘surrender’ his licenses, but not until 2009!

Over the years these three had ‘actions’ taken against them on a few occasions in more than one state, but only the latest is currently on file at DORA, Colorado’s records search.

Some of the documents mention referring problems to the state Attorney General’s office for further review.  But I can’t find one time any of them were ever seriously considered for prosecution.

The laws in Colorado were changed at least twice to curtail these guys from abusing children for profit, but the Dental Board never revoked their licenses as they should have.  They allowed Dr. Michael DeRose continue with this abuse from 1982 until 2009!  That’s 27 years!!!!!!

Now look where we are.

Had the Colorado Dental Board done their job, there would be no Small Smiles, Kool Smiles or Adventure Dental out there tying up children and drilling out perfectly good teeth, causing horrific trauma to small children, devastating the trust children have in their parents and adults and scamming Medicaid (you tax dollars) out of 100’s of millions of dollars.

Somehow through all of this the uncle, Dr. Adolph Ralph Padula came away unscathed.  His license is as pure as the white driven snow.

Dr. William Mueller (UPIN# 64458) was finally locked out of the medicaid program March 18, 2010.

Dr. Letitia (Tish) Ballance Update

I'm getting conflicting reports as to whether Letitia (Tish) Ballance opened her new state of the art "Access West" dental clinic is Asheville, but am getting a strong report she's opening a clinic in Waynesville, NC, located in Waynesville Plaza.

However I did do a little search to see if maybe Tish had ever been licensed in Colorado, and sure'nuff there she was.

License number 8153.  She was first licensed in June, 2000 and let it laspe in February 2006.  Her licensing method was 'credentialing'.  No actions are on file for her. 

I would hope that the dental board has her name red flagged in case she were to ever try and get her licenses there again.  In fact when she, along with Michael DeRose were fined that $10 million last year, didn't the dental board say something about how this would following them no matter where they go, well yeah, it's following them alright.  Following them right along to opening more clinics, bilking (I mean, billing) medicaid and straight to the bank.

When I find out for sure if she opened that new clinic in Asheville, I'll update it here.

Can You Believe It Took 5 Years To Decide 16 Baby Root Canals At One Sitting Isn't A Good Idea

You know what I've been thinking?

Since the State Of North Carolina, it appears, is going to let Tish Ballance open up another medicaid dental clinic...

...and Michael DeRose be the "consultant" for Dr. Raf Rivera's new and improved Smile Starters.


....why don't they just save the children years of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and thousands of night terrors and write Tish Ballance, Raf Rivera, and Michael DeRose a check and keep their asses at home away from the children!

I mean, honestly, they haven't stopped them from getting into the medicaid piggy bank, nor has the state pulled their licenses so evidently they want them to have the money....

...cut the assholes a check!

Trish Ballance and Michael DeRose: North Carolina's Responsibility To Their Citizens

Now that the state of North Carolina is fully aware that Tish (Letitia) Ballance and her partner in crime Michael DeRose are clearly still trying to open and operate more dental clinics will nip that idea of theirs in the bud!

It would most certainly be a HUGE miscarriage of justice to let these two or any of those involved in their crimes back into the business from which they were fined $10 Millions Dollars.

These clinics are designed specifically to entice low income children into their lair for strapping down and drilling out teeth "at will" all for no other reason than to see how much money they can once again defraud from the federal-state medicaid system.

After this blogger found and alerted the media, surly goodness and mercy the people of North Carolina lay down their swords and say enough!

If these two are allowed to treat children and again be allowed to dip their greedy fingers or have access to North Carolina state dental insurance program, well it would just be beyond outrageous!

And anyone with a brain would have to question why they even investigated these two crooks in the first place! Why waste even more tax dollars to investigate for at least 4 years something that you are once again going to turn your back on and pretend didn't happen.

It is unbelievable that these two are only on probation for their cruelty to children, yet allowed back in public to continue their quests. If you've kept up with this blog at all you can see there is a very wide and very very long trail of this kind of behavior from Dr. Michael DeRose, he's not going to change his spots! He and his father and brother, among others created a whole multi-million dollar industry doing this!

These two are no better than any sexual predators that society insists be tracked and kept as far away from children as possible!

Beware of The Following Dentists in North Carolina:

BEWARE of These Dentists:

Dr. Michael DeRose

Dr. Letitia Ballance

Dr. John Lyons

Dr. Jeffery Zieziula

Dr. Erron Brady

Dr. Lori Petree

Dr. Christopher Ballinger

Dr. Heather Berkheimer

Dr. Michelle Wilkerson

Michael DeRose Still Looking For Grads To Work At Smile Starters

WOW and I thought he had nothing to do with Smile Starters.
Guaranteed starting salary 144k, new grads welcome, great place to start!
Funny how Tish (Letitia Ballance) and Mike (Michael DeRose) both put adds out at various Dental Schools for dentists to come join in their supposedly (new and separated) dental clinics about the same time. Tish says it a "group", wonder where she found others to "group" with on such short notice. Remember Tish has Access West in Asheville, and Mikie has Smilestarters (all one word if you go searching for it).

Honestly, you just gotta love these guys for keeping on keeping on, don't ya?
thesmilestarters.com

The Ad was posted 2-2008!
Scroll about 1/2 way down the page: here

SmileStarters is a general practice focusing on access to care for underserved children and young adults in North Carolina. We have seven locations throughout NC including Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston Salem, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Asheville with plans for expansion. We offer excellent guaranteed salaries beginning at $144,000 and up with comprehensive benefits including health, life, disability, and malpractice insurance, paid vacation, 401K, CE time and fees and much more. If you have a desire to work in a modern, team oriented, positive environment, come help us to make a difference a smile-at-a-time!! New graduates are encouraged, a great place to begin your career.

Contact: Roger Walters-704-395-6000, walters.rdm@gmail.com
Owner listed as Michael DeRose, 2211 E. Executive, Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28208

What's better (or worse, depending on how you look at it, is that all these ads are google cashe'd so they are gonna be there for a while even if they delete them.

Ballance -DeRose DDS PA

After looking over the Articles Of Incorporation for Ballance-DeRose, DDS PA it appears another name needs to be added to the list of people involved in dental practice. There are three people listed:

Michael Anthony DeRose
Letitia L. Ballance
Robert D. Hinshaw

with Michael Anthony DeRose listed as Registered Agent.
and Robert D. Hinshaw the Incorporator
It was signed 10-16-2003

This corporation is still current and active

There is also a Michael Anthony DeRose, DDS PA corporation listed in North Carolina with Mike being the sole director and incorporator.

This corporation was formed July 12, 2001 and is also current

Nine Dentist Suffer Consequenses of Abusing and Traumatizing Children

Charlotte Observer story

A VERY TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE FOR THE CHILDREN'

Medicaid dentists disciplined

Probation, reprimands were given before $10 million settlement

KAREN GARLOCH AND GARY L. WRIGHT

kgarloch@charlotteobserver.comgwright@charlotteobserver.com

Christy Dillbeck holds the stainless steel caps and teeth of her son Brandon. Brandon at the age of 4 had 16 teeth drilled out and capped with stainless steel in a scam by local dentists. (original story aired July 2003)

Nine dentists have been disciplined in connection with a Medicaid fraud case alleging they performed or billed for unnecessary dental work on poor children in North Carolina.

Patients as young as 4 years old had multiple teeth pulled and root canals performed during single appointments at Medicaid Dental Center clinics in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Asheville and Raleigh, according to state documents.

At least two children received 16 pulpotomies, also known as "baby root canals," and 16 steel crowns during the same visit.

"It was a very traumatic experience for the children and their parents," said attorney Darren Dawson of Greenville, N.C., who represents some of the families involved.

"These were children who were 4, 5 and 6 who were told by their moms and dads that they were going to visit with trusted professionals. Suddenly, they're in there for three hours and coming out with a mouth full of steel."

In a settlement announced Wednesday, Medicaid Dental Center, a privately owned chain of N.C. dental clinics, agreed to pay $10 million to the government to resolve allegations that it performed and billed for unnecessary dental work on kids.

Clinic owners and dentists Letitia (Tish)Ballance. DDS of the Charlotte area and Michael DeRose,DDS of Pueblo, Colo., are also serving three years' probation, starting in 2005, by the N.C. Board of Dental Examiners.

The seven other dentists who worked for the clinics received written reprimands in 2005 that will remain permanently in their N.C. files and with the National Practitioner Data Bank.

"It's something that will follow them in any state where they try to practice," said Bobby White, executive director of the dental board.

White said the seven dentists received lighter discipline than the clinic owners because they were inexperienced and essentially following orders. Ballance and DeRose "were the bosses, making decisions and sending it down the line -- `You will do things this way,' " White said. "The board saw that as a mitigating factor."

The seven include three from Charlotte -- Drs. John Lyons, Jeffrey Zieziula and Erron Brady. Others are Drs. Lori Petree and Christopher Ballinger of Winston-Salem, Dr. Heather Berkheimer of Southern Pines and Dr. Michelle Wilkerson of Raleigh, according to the dental board.

None of the seven could be reached for comment Thursday. Several continue to work for Medicaid Dental Center, in the Charlotte office, now called Smile Starters, and elsewhere. Ballinger and Brady now work in private practice.

According to the board's reprimands, Lyons and Ballinger saw patients initially and developed diagnosis and treatment plans. The remaining five dentists performed the treatment. The board accused all seven of doing their work "without adequate diagnostic documentation."

The dental work was done between 2001 and 2003 and involved the children's baby teeth.

Since 2005, the dental board has made unannounced inspections of Medicaid Dental Center, and found the clinics substantially in compliance with its standards.

Spokeswomen for the U.S. attorney in Charlotte and the N.C. attorney general on Thursday would not disclose how many children they allege received unnecessary dental work, how many dentists were involved, or why the government settled for $10 million instead of bringing criminal charges.

Federal and state laws do not explicitly make it illegal for dentists to perform unnecessary work. Such claims are typically left to malpractice lawsuits in civil court. There are laws making it a crime to commit Medicaid and health care fraud in billings.

The settlement agreement doesn't prohibit prosecutors from bringing criminal charges. But when civil settlements are reached, sources said, it suggests prosecutors are not planning to pursue criminal charges.

16 `baby root canals'

One of the children treated in Charlotte was Brandon Dillbeck, then 4.His mother, Christy Dillbeck of Charlotte, said her son had 16 "baby root canals," and 16 stainless steel crowns placed on his teeth during one visit.

"He has nightmares to this day of people holding him down," the 24-year-old mother said. "He had blood all over his shirt. He was covered with sweat. He looked like he was in a trance. He was crying."

Dillbeck said she had taken her son to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned. She was 19 at the time and unemployed, and she took Brandon to Medicaid Dental Center because the office accepted Medicaid.

Dillbeck said she didn't give the dentist permission to perform the baby root canals or place the crowns on her son's teeth.

"What mother in her right mind would give permission to do that to their child all at one time?" she said. "A mother would have to be crazy to let someone do that to their child.

"He had beautiful teeth before. He came out of there, and they were all metal. He was embarrassed for years about how he looked. He wouldn't smile."

Brandon, now 9, has lost his baby teeth and the steel crowns, but his mom worries he may still suffer long-term problems.

Dawson, the Greenville lawyer, said Thursday he represents the families of five children, including Brandon, who received the questionable dental work. Four were patients at a Charlotte clinic, he said.

Dawson and his colleague Harry Albritton are in preliminary negotiations with attorneys for Medicaid Dental Center and the dentists, seeking to reach a monetary settlement rather than go to court.

'Black eye' to profession

The Medicaid Dental Center case gives a "black eye" to the profession, said Dr. Alec Parker, who heads the N.C. Dental Society, the state's professional organization for dentists.

"It's really just hard to understand how (dentists) could justify that," Parker said. "We put our trust in our health care providers, and we expect them to do what's best for the patient."

Part of the problem, Parker said, is that private dentists don't accept many Medicaid patients because the state-federal insurance program for the poor and disabled doesn't provide adequate reimbursement. Dentists also shun Medicaid because it means extra paperwork and frequently missed appointments because patients don't have transportation.

That leaves patients few choices for dental care and pushes dentists who do accept Medicaid to treat large numbers of patients. "When reimbursement rates are as low as they are, it makes it difficult to make ends meet," Parker said. "They feel like they have to overbill and overtreat to make a go of it."

Still, Parker said, if the Medicaid Dental Center dentists knew that what they were doing was wrong, and did it repeatedly, they should be facing "more than just a reprimand."

"People who are trying to take advantage of the system need to know that somebody's watching."

Checking out your dentist

• Ask friends and family for recommendations. Insurance companies and managed care plans usually have a panel of dentists.

• After obtaining names, check to make sure they are properly licensed and have clear records.

• N.C. dentists are licensed and disciplined by the N.C. Board of Dental Examiners: www.ncdentalboard.org; 919-678-8223.

• S.C. dentists are licensed and disciplined by the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation: www.llr.state.sc.us; 803-896-4300.

• Ask about costs and why procedures are necessary and if there are alternatives.

Remember the names of these dentists, they have been involved in Fraudulent Medicaid Billing and Performing Unnecessary Dental Procedures on Children, likely strapping them down in restraints for hours at a time in a papoose board, traumatizing children and abusing them, all for the love of money and greed!

BEWARE of These Dentists:

Dr. Michael DeRose

Dr. Letitia Ballance

Dr. John Lyons

Dr. Jeffery Zieziula

Dr. Erron Brady

Dr. Lori Petree

Dr. Christopher Ballinger

Dr. Heather Berkheimer

Dr. Michelle Wilkerson