Access West Dental, Asheville, NC-Dr. Letitia (Tish) Ballance

I don't know how old or new this ad is but here is an ad for a job listed at ncdental.org for a new graduate dentist and dental assistants and more.

Access West Dental-Asheville, NC-Dr. Tish Ballance, DDS.

Does Letitia (Tish) have her hand in the cookie jar again and looking to physically and mentally abuse more children in North Carolina? If so, as it appears, who is she in bed with this time. I would think she would want to be more than transparent in her new ventures.

I found an article written back a few years, November 2004 I think, talking about how Tish Ballance had been raised in North Carolina, and instead of going into a normal practice as a dentist she wanted to help the poor children in North Carolina by opening her heart and dedicating her life to helping those children of North Carolina, yeah right, Tish. Sounded good at the time didn't it.

From what I can gather it's scheduled to open in July 2008. Interviews were scheduled for these positions on Saturday 4/12/o8 at the Marriott Residence Inn on Biltmore Avenue, according to career builder website.

Now I'm not that educated as most can tell from the half hazard way this site is thrown together but if I had just gotten named and fined with a cohort, Michael DeRose, 10 million dollars, 10 MILLION DOLLARS I don't know that I would still be out trying to do the same thing again with in 2 days! Then again, maybe I'm just a quick study and some people just aren't.

As you can read from the ad, once again it's a newly formed "group", wonder exactly who is involved in the "group".

Is it just me that finds this just amazingly stupid! Change names, change locations, rinse and repeat!

Honestly those with a sense of humor, you gotta just love this one!

ACCESS WEST DENTAL (Asheville, NC) - Great opportunity to live, work, and play in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina in the progressive Asheville area, earn a great salary with no administration responsibilities, and to dedicate your skills to making a real difference! Join Access West Dental opening soon in Asheville, North Carolina. The newly formed Access West Dental is a private group general dental practice that will concentrate on providing much needed access to quality dental care for the under served children and young adults of western North Carolina. The new state of the art 10,000 sq foot office is presently under construction in west Asheville and will boast a beautiful professionally designed spacious interior, 8 chair fully computerized open hygiene bay, digital radiography throughout with intra-oral cameras, and 10 fully computerized ops to also support the “paperless” office model. In addition, there will be a central sterilization area, 4 private consultation rooms for discreet and informed doctor/patient communications, and a full complement of trained support staff that will consist of 4-5 RDHs, 10 DAs, 5 front desk staff (2 bilingual), plus and office manager and a director of operations. The practice will be open Monday -Thursday, closed a full day on Friday and offers a very competitive guaranteed salary and full benefits package for only a four day work week. New graduates encouraged to apply! Please contact Dr. Tish Ballance at 828-665-4410 or accesswest@gmail.com for more information on this practice opportunity.

Medicaid Dental Center aka Smile Starters Pays $10 Million For Medicaid Fraud

by: Mark Boone

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The owners of a chain of dental clinics, with offices in Charlotte, will pay more than $10 million in response to a federal investigation into alleged Medicaid fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Wednesday.

The owners of the company formerly known as Medicaid Dental Center did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, said attorney James Wyatt.

As first reported in a WCNC investigation, some parents complained they took their children to the Medicaid Dental Centers on Freedom Drive and N. Tryon Street for what they believed to be routine visits.

The Charlotte offices are now operating under the name ‘Smile Starters.’

Wyatt said the clinics are under new management.

Christy Dillbeck, a west Charlotte mother, said she was asked to wait in the lobby of a Medicaid Dental Center as a dentist placed her then-four-year-old son on a papoose board, a device used to restrain children.

The dentist then drilled into 16 of her son’s baby teeth and installed steel caps, without her knowledge, she said.

“That’s a lot, a lot of work,” Dillbeck said. “And to imagine all of the children that had to go through what my son went through, it breaks my heart to even think of it.”

At least six other families contacted WCNC with similar allegations.

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert said Medicaid Dental Center performed “baby root canals,” which were not medically necessary.

The procedures were performed between 2001 and 2003, Shappert said.

“The dentists subjected their child patients to invasive and sometimes painful procedures, often for the sake of obtaining money from the North Carolina Medicaid program,” said Jeffrey Bucholtz, an N.C. Assistant Attorney General.

Dentists Letitia Ballance and Michael DeRose are named in the government settlement as co-owners of the Medicaid Dental Center.

Wyatt, who has represented Ballance and DeRose in both federal and state inquiries, said they are no longer working as dentists in Charlotte and are in the process of selling their North Carolina dental practice.

Federal authorities said Medicaid Dental Center and its owners will reimburse the government at least $5 million for the allegedly false claims and another $5 million in fines.

A portion of the settlement amount will be distributed to the N.C. Education Fund.

None of the settlement money will go to the parents of the children who underwent the treatment, said attorney Darren Dawson, who represents five families which are considering a lawsuit against the company formerly known as Medicaid Dental Center.

Wyatt says the clinics are under "New Management".

This blogger wants to know exactly "who" or "what company" is doing all this new management?

An educated guess would say FORBA, but this blogger has not confirmed this at all. But it is clear that Dr. Michael DeRose sold (so he says) to FORBA, and it is clearly reported that Dr. William A. Mueller, Dr. DeRoses' cohort, is associated with FORBA Dental Management, more on this below.

This same type of practice by the DeRose's and Medicaid Dental Centers and the various other names that were used, was in play as far back as 2004 in Colorado. see here.

According to various reports the DeRose's sold their interest in the Colorado dental clinics to FORBA Dental Management in 2006. Either the DeRose's and Forba are in cahoots together or Dr. Micheal DeRose and his clan just moved to another state and opened the same type of Medicaid Scam dental clinics in North Carolina.

Dr. William A. Mueller, at least at one time was in with Dr. Michael DeRose and we know that Dr. William A. Mueller and FORBA are in bed together, see here.

It's clear there is a connection between all of these dental chains. As reported in this blog in a prior post, Dr. Michael DeRose owned and operated one clinic that went under the name, Smile High in Denver that was part of the entire dental clinic chained owned by Mueller and DeRose.

From documents at the Kansas Dental Board, Dr. Michael DeRose, DDS had been sanctioned in North Carolina in December 2005.

In Sept. 2006, the Kansas Dental Board took action to enforce the North Carolina Order and another hearing is set for December 2008 to see that all conditions of his probation are met. North Carolina ordered him to show and demonstrate the use of a papoose board prior to strapping any child in one.

We also know Dr. Mueller in prior years had been sanctioned by the Tennessee Dental Board, yet in the end we find him in bed with FORBA headquarted in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. William A. Mueller has also been sanctioned by Oklahoma's State Dental Board. See here.

This blogger also discovered that Dr. Tu Tran, is one of the founders of Kool Smiles as reported on Kool Smiles website. see here, was the lead dentist at.... are you ready..... Smile High Dental Clinic in Denver, co-owned by Dr. Michael DeRose and Dr. William A.Mueller.

By the way, Dr. William A. Mueller it is reported here that:

Dr. Mueller was charged with gross malpractice for over-using papoose boards on children in his clinic in Memphis Tennessee.


But the Tennessee Dental Board dropped those charges against him.


However, the board voted to reprimand Mueller for false and misleading advertising in his clinic there.

When googling Dr. William A. Meuller, DMD or DDS you will find several listed, but the two that stood out to me was "Chief Of Dentistry" at the Children's Hospital in Denver, and another address at St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. There is also a review of some children toothbrushes called Kindertools, where a one Dr. William A. Mueller, DDS reviewed the product and listed himself as being: Chief of Dentistry, University Of Colorado Health Science Center. see here.

There is a clear connection between all of these Dental Clinic's.


Dr. Michael DeRose, Dr. William A. Mueller, Dr. Tu Tran - Smile High Dental Clinic


Dr. Tu Tran goes to - Kool Smiles
Dr. William Mueller - FORBA - Small Smiles
Dr. Michael DeRose - Medicaid Dental Center

One would think that Drs. DeRose and Mueller would have learned their lesson about abusing children and the medicaid system since they actually were named in connection with the death of 4 year old Jonathan Barrera in Arizona at one of their co-owned dental clinics.

The Dental Clinics and Dr. Michael DeRose were being investigated as to their practices in treating children and all the vast amount of money they were raking in as far back and 2003. see here.

Here is what Medicaid Dental Center had to say in 2003.

All of this is right on the heals of FORBA Small Smiles questionable practices in Kansas.

Dr. Michael DeRose and Letitia Ballance also have clinics under the name of Carolina Dental Center.