$2.3 Million Malpractice Lawsuit in Filed in Virginia Against Kool Smiles

May 9, 2019

In January 2018, Dental Service Organization (DSO), Benevis, who operates Kool Smiles dental clinics across the country agreed to a Settlement of $23.9 million dollars to settle fraud charges with the federal government. Why the company was not placed under a Corporate Integrity Agreement is beyond me, not that they mean a whole lot, but still. 

“Today’s settlement sends a very clear signal:  Fraud in the federal healthcare system will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney John F. Bash for the Western District of Texas. “Especially when that fraud involves performing unnecessary procedures on kids—here, unnecessary baby root canals and tooth extractions, among other procedures—we will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal to punish those who break the law.”

“It is intolerable when health care companies seek to boost profits by defrauding Medicaid and exploiting children," said Special Agent in Charge Phillip M. Coyne, HHS-OIG. "Systematically performing and billing for medically unnecessary dental procedures undermines the well-being of these young patients, corrupts the impartiality of medical decision-making, and diverts money from taxpayer-funded health care programs designed to pay for legitimate medical needs.”

Soon after they began rebranding each clinic to appear more individually owned and operated. But did they change their ways?  Uh....nope!  

The Complaint states that at least 50 children were treated with unsterilized instruments in March and April 2019.

190509 Virginia Kool Smiles... by on Scribd

Tailwind Capital's Dental Service Organization Investments: Benevis and Lone Peak

Just an FYI, since I'm sure this information will be needed one day:

Smiles 4 Kids, which had been purchasing many old Small Smiles clinics and Kool Smiles are both now operated by Tailwind Capital.

Benevis is Kool Smiles and Resolution Dental

Lone Peak is Smiles 4 Kids as well as a few other names.

Financing for Benevis's sale to Tailwind seems to be, in part,  by New Mountain Finance and happened during the 1st quarter of 2018. Probably before the ink on the Kool Smiles settlement was dry. 

In a May 2018 conference call transcript New Mountain states:

Our new investments were highlighted by a larger-size directed origination of a unitranched loan for Benevis, several club deals including a loan to ACA Compliance and one addition to both our net leased portfolio and our SBIC investing program. We believe that the consistency of our deal flow in this competitive market shows the strength of the broad sourcing network that we have built.

(unintranched debt: debt is a type of structured debt that obtains funding from multiple participants with varying term structures.)

 

In their 2018 holdings report, Washington State Investment Board is invested is Tailwind and New Mountain.


Although Benevis still shows up on FFL Partners website's portfolio page,  it is listed under the "Former" tab on their website.

Tailwind Captial Portfolio
FFL Partners Portfolio

Kool Smiles PSC dba Ruby Dental in Kentucky

Kool Smiles PSC dba Ruby Dental in Kentucky-181102 by Dentist The Menace on Scribd

Kool Smiles featured on CBS Whistleblower Series

 

Benevis/Kool Smiles Response to CBS Report:
Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Rai blew the whistle on Kool Smiles after they say they witnessed unnecessary dental procedures performed on children. CBS reached out to the company for a comment and they provided the following statements:

Statement from Kool Smiles:
"Our patients and their safety are our top priority and we will continue to work toward our mission of ensuring every child in America has a dental home. The settlement reached in December 2017 addressed treatment provided between 2009 and 2011, and was unrelated to the quality of dental care provided to patients. The company's compliance and quality assurance programs lead the dental industry and we continue to implement ongoing measures to ensure every patient receives the best care."

This past December, 2-year-old Zion Gastelum died four days after visiting the Kool Smiles office in Yuma, Arizona. Zion's death occurred just days after the Whistleblower suit was settled. The case had been in litigation for almost a decade.

Statement from Kool Smiles regarding death of Zion Gastelum:
"Kool Smiles treatment protocols follow the guidelines and best practices established by the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Treatment is provided only after conducting a consultation and obtaining the informed, written consent of the patient's parent or guardian. Our dedicated dentists, anesthesiologists and the rest of our Kool Smiles family mourn this tragic loss."

Evidence shows Benevis, LLC / Kool Smiles Dental Centers Knows the Laws.

Screen shot from Benevis website January 20, 2018:

They simply believe the laws don’t apply to them.
Ad from the Kentucky Dental Association Website.

Benevis, (formerly NCDR, LLC) is owned by FFL Partners and operates Medicaid dental clinics under the name Kool Smiles Dental, focused on children (perferably under the age of 5 from the looks of things).  However they operate a disturbing non-Medicaid division under the corporate umbrella of PSBB, PC, Inc. with Dale Mayfield CFO, Secretary and CFO.  Mayfield is the Chief Dental Officer at Kool Smiles.  In 2016, Mayfield was appointed to the Georgia Board of Dentistry by Governor Nathan Deal. (try not to puke if you read this link)

Mother speaks out against Yuma, AZ Kool Smiles Dental Clinic

A mother is speaking out following the death of two children who visited a dental office in Yuma.

Nearly six years later, Elva Aranda is sharing her experience at Kool Smiles, who claims her daughter was being choked by a dental assistant in Summer 2012.

"It was a horrible experience, a horrible experience because when you see someone else hurting your child, you feel helpless," said Aranda.

Aranda says while her daughter was getting her regular checkup, the dental assistant was acting aggressively towards her daughter during the procedure. She claims the dental assistant was adding pressure to her daughter's neck as if she was choking her without realizing it.

"You know the suction tool, she started putting that into my daughter's mouth, and that was making her "gag". I'm here looking at my daughter, and I'm seeing her gag because that tool was shoved in her mouth and I started comforting here saying "it's okay, you're going to be okay" but I did not see that this lady had her whole hand shoved into my daughter's neck choking her."

Read the entire report here.

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In 2016, 4 year old Liseth Lares died just days after visiting the same Yuma, AZ Kool Smiles clinic as 2 year old Zion Gastelum

YUMA, Arizona --

Two children, one dentist's office, each meeting the same tragic fate.
An Arizona mother is suing Kool Smiles in Yuma after her 4-year-old daughter died days after she visited the dentist's office in January 2016.

Francisca Lares said she is heartbroken, because she was only trying to do the right thing in getting care for her daughter, KNXV reports.

But when little Liseth Lares developed a fever, family attorney Marco Mercaldo said the dentist sent the girl home after a "relatively cursory exam."

"Told the mom essentially there is nothing to worry about, she'll be fine," Mercaldo said. "Unfortunately, the infection spread and she died of the infection."

Mercaldo argues Liseth could have survived the infection if Kool Smiles had given her the proper treatment.

Read full report here.

2-year-old Zion Gastelum dies after dental appointment at Kool Smiles

YUMA, AZ - An Arizona family is left confused, devastated and looking for answers about just what happened during a young boy's dental appointment.

The family of Zion Jay Gastelum said the 2-year-old died after a dentist appointment in Yuma last month. Zion's uncle told ABC15 the child's parents took him to Kool Smiles Dentist on December 16 for a crown and filling, and somehow either during or after the process, it appears Zion stopped breathing. 

According to family, Zion was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center and then flown to Maricopa County, where he died several days later.

Read more here

Another one of those “studies” paid for by Kool Smiles parent company suggests more Medicaid money is needed for dental benefits to serve children in Texas!

I know it’s hard but try to stop laughing and read this ridiculous press release.
(Benevis was formerly NCDR (Kool Smiles), owned by private equity firm FLL Partners.)

Study Finds Only 26.5% Of Texas Children Eligible For Medicaid Dental Coverage Frequently Visit Dentist.

PRNewswire (7/30) carries a release announcing that a new survey by the Benevis Foundation, conducted by Kennesaw State and Emory University researchers, finds that “only 26.5% of Texas parents with children eligible for Medicaid dental coverage consistently bring their children to the dentist as frequently as they should,” with parents citing financial hardships as the primary barrier to more frequent dental visits. Geoffrey Freeman, spokesperson for the Benevis Foundation, said, “This suggests that parents may not be aware of the complete coverage of their benefit, or that there may be secondary costs – such as transportation or unpaid time off work – that keeps these families from visiting the dentist as often as they would like.”

Report on Indiana dentist Shadrach Gonqueh may have missed the real story

Below is a story from WISHTV.com about yet another overtreating, Medicaid defrauding crooked dentist published May 12, 2015. In the story they mention the 2014 OIG Report about 95 dentists with “Questionable” billing. That’s where the real story lies.  Why do I say that, you ask? Well, out of those 95 dentists 28 work for Kool Smiles clinics, owned by FFL Partners, 13 work at clinics that were formerly named Small Smiles, also owned by private equity investors, and 10 work for Reachout Healthcare America’s “Smile Care” mobile clinics that tend to visit schools. The list of dentists is at the end of this post.

Indiana dentists accused of overtreating patients, overbilling Medicaid

May 12, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Kyong Farnsley feared she had cavities in her teeth.

She hadn’t been to the dentist in a while.

So in August 2012 when she walked into Amazing Family Dental in Indianapolis, she says she expected to have an initial exam and a treatment plan set up.

Farnsley says she walked out with half her teeth.

“(The dentist) proceeded to do the exam and told me I had an infection in my mouth and that some of my teeth were infected. He would need to pull them,” Farnsley told I-Team 8. “He said the infection was so bad that if I didn’t have (my teeth) pulled out, I could walk out and have a heart attack and die. I had never heard that before.”

Fearing for her health, Farnsley said she gave consent for Dr. Shadrach Gonqueh to perform the procedure. A copy of her dental records, obtained by I-Team 8, show 15 of her teeth were extracted.

“If he says it’s that severe and I’m going to die, I am going to trust him. I have two small boys at home. I can’t leave them. I am a single mom at that time; I can’t leave them,” she said.

Afterward, Farnlsey said she was given pain medication but no antibiotics. She left, she says, thinking she would eventually receive dentures. As weeks went by, she sought a second opinion from a new dentist who she says told her the procedure she endured was unnecessary.

Farnsley’s story is not unique. She is currently one of five former patients suing Dr. Gonqueh. Another lawsuit representing three former patients claims Dr. Gonqueh made them “believe that they were in imminent danger and needed to immediately have all their teeth pulled … or risk death by suffering a heart attack,” according to the lawsuit.

An I-Team 8 investigation found allegations of “dental overtreatment” or unnecessary work is not uncommon. In fact, it makes up nearly a third of the 44 active licensing complaints against Indiana dentists, according to Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office.

In March, Zoeller’s office filed a licensing complaint against Dr. Gonqueh, accusing him of engaging in fraud by overbilling and receiving more than $27,000 in reimbursements for procedures performed on 158 patients.

“The Board of Dentistry is expected to consider this complaint at its hearing on June 5. At that time, the board will act as jury and judge to determine what, if any, disciplinary action will be taken against the license holder,” Molly Johnson, a spokeswoman for Zoeller’s office, wrote in an email to I-Team 8.

DENTIST REACTS

I-Team 8 spoke to Dr. Gonqueh by phone at his Raymond Street office, where he is still practicing. After a reporter identified himself and informed Gonqueh that he was recording the conversation for his news report, Gonqueh declined to answer questions, but did say:

“This story is nothing new,” Gonqueh said. “And I will refer you to my attorney for any further comments. I think you are looking for something where there is nothing.”

Gonqueh’s attorney, Peter Pogue, provided a statement that read:

“Amazing Family Dental, and its dentist, is aware of the recent filings by a few patients and the Attorney General’s Office.  These claims arise out of treatment from several years ago. Amazing Family Dental and its dentist is vigorously defending each of these claims as they proceed through the appropriate legal venue, and Amazing Family Dental and its dentist intend to avail itself of all appropriate legal defenses.  Amazing Family Dental and its dentist maintain that the treatment of each patient is medically appropriate and within the appropriate standard of care, and Amazing Family Dental and its dentist look forward to the opportunity to present the defense to these claims at the appropriate time and in the appropriate forum.  Beyond that, Amazing Family Dental and its dentist do not feel that it is appropriate to comment on pending legal matters.”

(Editor’s note: In the days leading up to this story, I-Team 8 received repeated phone calls from another lawyer, Steve Eslinger of South Bend, who claims to also represent Gonqueh.)

Eslinger’s statement said in part that “expert witnesses” contend that Dr. Gonqueh did nothing wrong.

INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDS ‘QUESTIONABLE BILLING’

Last November, the Office of Inspector General from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report on pediatric dentistry in Indiana that found “questionable billing practices” among 95 dentists in the state.

Dental billing fraud is more common than you think

Everybody knows going to the dentist is important, yet half of American adults skip out on regular dental care.

Some avoid dentistry out of fear of pain or sheer busyness, but a large portion of Americans can’t afford it without financial assistance.

Unfortunately, it’s Americans on government assistance programs for dental care who are being taken advantage of. Worse, their children are suffering for it.

It started as a solution

Many low-income children don’t receive dental care until they’re brought to the emergency room with a toothache, simply because their parents can’t afford it. Nearly half of American children are on some form of government-funded health insurance, either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

…As a result, corporate dental chains started accepting Medicaid and CHIP, and even opening new offices specializing in Medicaid…

…most of the charges were coming from one dental chain, Kool Smiles, and that the x-rays didn’t justify their treatments. Kool Smiles was investigated, and state officials found that the crowns were not only unnecessary but that the dental work was shoddy….

…Kool Smiles isn’t the only dental chain implicated by government officials in fraudulent billing practices. Dental chain Small Smiles settled with the United States in 2010 for $24 million to resolve allegations of fraudulent charges. In April 2014, the company that owns Small Smiles, CSHM, Inc., was excluded from participating in federal health care programs like Medicaid for five years…

Read the entire story at Fox.com

What the story fails to mention:

Small Smiles/CSHM is still operating Small Smiles clinics.  They are simply using a different corporate name—First Quality Management, Inc.  Many of the original corporate level employees still in place. Some clinics are under the control of Hero Management who operates Adventure Dental and Vision and others have been taken over by Sarrell Dental based in Alabama.

Revisiting 2009 MassHealth Independent Audit Report

Revisiting 2009 MassHealth Independent Audit Report; not much has changed.

• Audit report for period July 2005 – May 2009
• Dental Program claims processing system has resulted in millions of dollars in ineligible claims and potential fraudulent claims being paid.
• Only 15.7% of radiograph claims met requirements.
• 84.3% of radiographs (x-rays) by 10 providers (3 Small Smiles and 3 Kool Smiles) failed to meet requirements
• Radiographs (X-rays) claims paid to 3 Small Smiles clinics and 3 Kool Smiles clinics totaling $3,09,172 were unallowable.
• DentaQuest (f/k/a Doral Dental) Senior Dental Director stated providers “treat to the benefits allowed and not member’s need)
• 3 Kool Smiles and 3 Small Smiles clinics routinely gave members bitewing radiographs contrary to FDA recommendations.
• Small Smiles said in 2009 they implemented a new dental protocol that included the 2004 FDA recommendations.
• DentaQuest contract required them to identify standards of care based on published recommendation of nationally recognized authorities such as the AAPD.
• DentaQuest contract required it to monitor providers’ compliance with the AAPD guidelines.
• MassHealth failure to adequately control orthodontic services resulting in $321,553 overpayment to just one provider.
• DentaQuest failure to adequately monitor claims was widespread.
• Many cases of double billing and double payments

MassHealth Dental Audit 2006-2009 by Dentist The Menace

NCDR–Kool Smiles and Resolution Dental says “main concern is financial”

Kristina Dorsey, HR Manager for NCDR, LLC - Kool Smiles PC & Resolution Dental, admits the main concern to the CEO’s and CFO’s is financial; truer words were never spoken. 

 

(Clip taken from interview on why they hired ADP to help them with the UnAffordable Care Act.)

Vice Chairman and Ranking Member of House Committee on Energy and Commerce-Oversight and Investigation subcommittee express continued concerns of dental management service companies (DMSOs).

In a letter (see below) to Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) express their continued concerns about “deceptive practices of dental management service companies (DMSOs)”.

They further call on HHS OIG to exclude any corporate dental companies from participating in the Medicaid program, saying, “Based on the report by the Senate Committees and the prior findings of HHS OIG, we concur with our Senate colleagues and recommend that HHS OIG should consider excluding any corporate entity that employs deceptive business practices that result in substandard care, from the Medicaid program.”

Burgess and DeGette are also concerned about the length of time it has taken to bring one of these companies—Small Smiles Dental Centers—to justice.

The letter recounts the history of the Small Smiles investigation, starting with the “2008 investigative news report” by WJLA in Washington. That report actually aired in November 2007; so it’s even worse, right?

The 3 page letter also states:

• “based on evidence undertaken by our offices, we are very concerned that the corporate structure and management of dental clinics often results in a failure to meet basic quality and compliance standards.”

Kool Smiles Dentist—Dr. Tuan “Terry” Truong, DDS— sentenced to 18 months in jail

Let me get this straight, private equity firm FFL’s corporation—NCDR, LLC/Kool Smiles—hired Dr. Troung, trained him to be a thief, gave him quota’s to meet, and now want their money back for legal expenses. OMG!

Here is what I want to know:

1. Why was Dr. Tuan Truong not on his hands and knees begging to spill his guts about this crooked company?

2. If he did who stopped him and why?

3. Was he here on a work visa?

PS: Don’t choke and puke when you read out “Kool Smiles” cooperated with the investigation! You bet your ass they did, and directed investigators to only what they wanted them to know apparently.

 

Abilene Dentist Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $58,000 in Restitution in Medicaid Fraud Scheme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2014

Defendant Worked as a Pediatric Dental Provider at Kool Smiles
and Personally Benefitted From Scheme

ABILENE, Texas — Dr. Tuan Truong, aka “Terry Truong,” of Abilene, a dentist who practiced pediatric dentistry at Kool Smiles in Abilene, was sentenced this afternoon, by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, to 18 months in federal prison.  Truong pleaded guilty in August 2013 to an Information charging one count of making a false statement in connection with a health care matter.  Truong was also ordered to pay $57,969 in restitution to Kool Smiles.  Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in summer 2008, Truong began working for Kool Smiles, which paid him a base salary and offered opportunities for bonuses based on additional procedures he performed in excess of daily targets set by Kool Smiles management.  Dentists were required to use professional judgment in the treatment and management of patient care.

NCDR, LLC–Kool Smiles-Resolution Dental wants you and your practice.

The private equity firm, FFL, who owns Kool Smiles Dental and Resolution Dental is moving away from opening their own clinics and moving toward the Heartland Dental business model—what I call the F & S business model. (S for suck, so you can figure out what the F stands for). 

F & S Business Model - This is where they come in, offer practice owners an unrealistic amount for their established practice, put the current owner and staff under employment contracts, then set unrealistic income quota’s that forces dentists and staff to make decisions not necessarily good for the patient. See A peek under the sheets of Heartland Dental

Rumors last years indicated Kool Smiles Dental had their highly questionable but lucrative Medicaid income stream reduced significantly due to what was apparently questionable dental treatment and billing practices. In 2013 they began switching many of their practices to Resolution Dental.

Now, they want to purchase already established dental centers. I’m sure this is a much faster way to increase the dwindling revenues.

They advertise:

Are you considering selling your practice? Let's talk.

They want locations “not in the hood” and are offering a “fast and furious” “too good to be true” amount cash for said locations. They want dentists willing to sign restrictive 2 years employment contracts, which will no doubt include a stiff penalties, especially for disparagement of the company. They also offer bribe your staff to stay on, but make no promises.

Any updates on Kool Smiles and Resolution Dental Clinics

I’ve not heard anything about this guys lately. Well, not since they sent warning letters out to current and past employees.

Anyone have any idea what’s happening down in Atlanta?

Dentists BEWARE -Kool Smiles Dental Center dentist thrown under the bus by NCDR, LLC

Looks like Dr. Tuan Truong aka Terry Troung is to Kool Smiles Dental what Robin Lockwood is to Ocean Dental. 
I bet ole Dr. Troung thought he was free and clear since leaving Kool Smiles.  If Dr. Troung thought NCRD, LLC was going to protect him, he was very wrong.  They will NOT! 
If you work for any of these type of places, you’ll be looking over your should for the rest of your life.
To Dr. Troung, and all other dentists working for these Medicaid mills, “I told you so.”.

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Published August 27, 2013
An Abilene dentist pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of making a false statement in connection with a health care matter, according to a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman.
Dr. Tuan Truong, aka Terry Truong, admitted to falsely billing Medicaid for between $120,000 and $200,000 between June 2008 and July 2009, said Kathy Colvin, spokeswoman for the justice department. Truong practiced pediatric dentistry at Kool Smiles in Abilene.
U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis has not yet sentenced Truong, who faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution.
“In summer 2008, Truong began working for Kool Smiles, which paid him a base salary and offered opportunities for bonuses based on additional procedures he performed in excess of daily targets set by Kool Smiles management,” Colvin said.
By falsely billing Medicaid, Truong collected $32,749 in bonuses he otherwise would not have collected.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas conducted the investigation.
 
Dr. Tuan (Terry) Truong, DDS TSBDE Action signed April 2011

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Senate Report On Corporate Dentistry in Medicaid (includes Kool Smiles)

Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley issue 1,500 page joint report calling for corporate Medicaid dental clinics to be ousted from the program

Today, Senators Baucus and Grassley issued a 1,500 – 1517 pages to be exact — page report on claims I’ve been making here on Dentist The Menace for nearly 6 years. The report includes 66 exhibits.
The story accompanying the release of the Joint Staff Report On The Corporate Practice of Dentistry In The Medicaid Program can be found at The Center for Public Integrity, here.  In David Heath’s story, he reports the new owners Small Smiles Dental Centers state the following:

“only five of the 20 inspection reports mentioned in the Senate report fell under its watch.”

and

…"We've taken action to help CSHM improve its quality of care and management,"

and

…“The new team immediately initiated an aggressive turnaround effort premised on patient care, clinical excellence and regulatory compliance,” the company said.

Well, that’s nothing to be crowing about, since the “new management”  only legally acquired the company 13 months ago putting a guy by the name of David R. Wilson in charge. That was in June of 2012, (13 months ago) so 1/4 of the inspections mentioned in Bacus/Grassley report took place under their watch. This is not a good record in my opinion — heck it’s as bad if not worse than the Michael Lindley/Al Smith or DeRose Family regimes.  Nor it does it demonstrate anything close to “an aggressive turnaround effort on patient care”.  What it does demonstrate, however, is “business as usual”. 
CPI also reports twice last year the OIG threatened to shut Small Smiles out of the Medicaid program.

“Twice last year the HHS inspector general threatened to exclude Small Smiles from the Medicaid program. But in a letter to Grassley and Baucus, Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said Small Smiles fixed the problems by selling the Manassas clinic, paying a $100,000 penalty and addressing other concerns.”

Now, did CSHM actually “sell” the Manassas, Virginia clinic?  That is highly suspect!  A guy out of Idaho left his own practice and moved his entire family to Virginia and slapped his name on the place, calling it Kids and Family Dentistry.  Coincidently, at the exact same time, the Small Smiles flagship clinic in Pueblo, Colorado changed it’s name to Family and Kids Dentistry, making the “owner” the same guy who was  the lead dentist working for Small Smiles at the time.  (Logos have a odd resemblance about them, don’t they?)  Anyone taking bets on whether the DeRose family — founders of Small Smiles —are somehow still involved with these two clinics?
As for the $100,000 penalty, that didn’t even cover 1/2 of the amount scammed in the x-ray scam in just one Colorado Small Smiles.  What would add insult to injury is it was probably on a payment plan, like the $24 million settlement in 2010.
The Bacus/Grassley report includes independent monitor reports on Small Smiles Phoenix, Arizona, Manassas, Virginia, Oxon Hill, Maryland and Youngstown, Ohio and others.  Small Smiles signed a Corporate Integrity Agreement with OIG in January 2010 agreeing to 63 pages of terms and conditions, including self-reporting.  Of course the “independent monitor” can only report on what they find.  But what about what they don’t find? 
I’ve not come close to reading the entire report just yet, but so far I’ve not read anything about the $200K x-ray scam in one of Colorado clinic that was NEVER self-reported, or the fact that a corporate staffer took the necessary Continuing Education courses to get the lead dentist in Mishawaka, Indiana credentialed in Indiana, making her effectively non-licensed to practice in Indiana to this very day or a host of other illegal activities going on behind the closed doors at Small Smiles Dental Centers and Church Street Health Management (CSHM). I doubt I find these things in the report, but you can find them here if you look.
It’s scary to think state dental boards and state Medicaid programs have not only turned a blind eye to the child abuse, but promoted and encouraged it.  Those of us following this industry also know this is just the tip of the iceberg. 
More on this eye opening report in the coming days.  In the meantime, I encourage everyone to read The Joint Staff Report On The Corporate Practice of Dentistry In The Medicaid Program and evidence attached by clicking here .

Kool Smiles under investigation?

February 11, 2013
I'm hearing rumblings of a Kool Smiles investigation going on by a federal agency but its not the one I have would expected; although I'm not surprised to hear is taking place.

There are literally thousands of complaints from parents and patients online about the Kool Smiles call center, for example:

404-781-0512 "Kool Smiles continues to call my cell phone and harass me almost daily...even after I've told them numerous times to stop..."

"They are so pressed to get your business that they disregard your privacy.."

"...I receive several phone calls a week from Kool Smiles to both my cell phone and my husband's..."

"These callers call me again and again..."

I'm told their automated system was a train wreck and Kool Smiles is fully aware of it.

Essentially set up as an appointment reminder it soon turned into high pressure sales calls to get parents to bring their child back for more torturous dental care. As long as the number was a "good" number Kool Smiles would continue the harassment. Same as they are with children's teeth, as long as there is prospective tooth to treat, it got treated, needed or not.

Apparently there has finally been enough complaints and the FCC is investigating. This is not confirmed by the FCC but my sources are solid.

In further Kool Smiles news:

I'm told Kool Smiles in Texas are being converted to their latest brain child - Resolution Dental. All expansion plans for new offices that were scheduled to open in 2013 have been cancelled.