Dr. Michael Addair Tarver: Four police complaints filed

 

Suspended dentist subject of four police complaints

By Austin L. Miller
Staff writer

Published: Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.

A dentist whose license was suspended Wednesday by the state on allegations of possible child abuse was also the subject of four complaints to Ocala police, but the complaints were determined to be unfounded.

Ocala police detectives investigated the complaints and sent their findings to the State Attorney's Office for review. The criteria for child abuse was not met in any of the complaints, authorities said.

In the four cases, the parents said they took their children — ranging in age from 18 months to 7 years — to Polliwog Dental at 255 SE 17th St., Ocala, for procedures and later said there were signs of abuse, officials stated.

Two of the four cases also were sent to the state Department of Health. That agency ordered the emergency suspension of Dr. Michael Addair Tarver, owner of Polliwog Dental, on Wednesday. Tarver is a board-certified pediatric dentist.

Tarver, in an email to the Star-Banner on Wednesday, vigorously denied the allegations and said he has hired an attorney to fight the accusations.

The DOH concluded that the 33-year-old dentist violated several state statutes and patient trust, and altered patient records. In one instance, the DOH said, a 4-year-old girl stopped breathing during a dental procedure and had to resuscitated, but her parents were never notified about the incident. His actions, the DOH stated, "demonstrates that he cannot reasonably be expected to comply with any sanction short of suspension."

Another troubling pediatric sedation dentist loose in Florida–Dr. Michael Addair Tarver

Polliwog Dental Children's Dentistry, is at 255 SE 17th Street in Ocala, Florida  34771

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State suspends pediatric dentist in Ocala

By Austin L. Miller
Staff writer
Published: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 7:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 7:55 p.m.

OCALA, FLORIDA — An Ocala dentist whose office was visited in late July by authorities who removed files and interviewed employees has had his license suspended, according to the state Department of Health.

A report by the DOH ordered the emergency suspension of Dr. Michael Addair Tarver’s license to practice dentistry.

The order, dated Wednesday, states that Tarver is a board-certified pediatric dentist. He’s the owner and operator of Polliwog Dental, a children’s dentistry office at 255 SE 17th St.

DOH officials said the emergency suspension order is directed at the individual, not the facility. Therefore, while Tarver cannot practice in the state of Florida, his wife, Dr. Rebecca Tarver, also a licensed dentist, can practice, and therefore the facility remains open, DOH said.

Tarver disputes the allegations against him.

“I am profoundly disappointed and shocked that the Board of Dentistry would take such action without even reviewing the facts or giving me a chance to defend myself,” he said in an email to the Star-Banner, adding that his attorney is “fighting this decision” and that he expects to have his license reinstated soon.

Hailing his wife as an excellent dentist, Tarver said the office is open and “will continue to provide quality care.”

The 10-page document outlined the reasons for the suspension:

Colorado Dentists Who Used Dirty Needles Arrested in Nevada–Cocaine Intoxication

 

Dentist Who Reused Needles Faces First Criminal Case

DENVER (CBS4 ) – A dentist who reused needles and put thousands of patients at risk of contracting deadly diseases has been arrested in Nevada.

Stephen Stein was arrested just after 1 a.m. Aug. 12 for cocaine and driving under the influence near Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

Court documents state Stein was speeding, 48 mph in a 35 mph zone, while intoxicated with cocaine.

Officers said they found “a hollowed out ink cartridge” in the Chevy Traverse he was driving.

In Colorado last year, Stein had been investigated by police in Denver for prescription fraud for alleged practices out of his two offices in the Denver metro area. State charges were never filed.

Stein agreed to surrender his dental license last year after the Colorado Department of Health discovered he had been under the influence of painkillers while treating patients.

Examiners said Stein admitted to being a drug addict. The board also found he had been using drugs intended for patients.

Since Oct. 1, 2012 six former patients of Stein have tested positive for either hepatitis or HIV.

It’s not known whether they contracted the diseases from Dr. Stephen Stein’s office. Stein has since surrendered his license as an oral surgeon.

About 8,000 of Stein’s patients were sent letters asking them to get tested. The health department says it’s impossible to definitively tell if the infected patients got sick from Stein.

Stein had offices in Cherry Creek and Highlands Ranch.

Stein is scheduled for court in the Lake Tahoe area on Sept. 17. Court officials said that is when the results of his blood tests will be released.

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Related:

Patients of Dr. Stephen Stein urged to get tested for HIV and hepatitis

Oral Surgeon accused of sexually molesting 3 teens allowed to open his own “private” “clinic”

I’m sure we will see Dr. Turbyfill in the news again.  It’s just a matter of time.  Clearly the state of Florida learned little from the Dr. Thomas Floyd fiasco.

Aug. 27, 2013

FLORIDA - A Pensacola oral surgeon plans to start a new practice after reaching a settlement agreement with the Florida Department of Health over accusations of sexual misconduct with three sedated teenage patients.

Dr. David “Ty” Turbyfill has denied the allegations, calling them unfounded.

The Florida Board of Dentistry has approved the agreement, which allows Turbyfill to continue his practice. The deal calls for him to pay a $10,000 administrative fine and $4,630 in costs associated with the case. It also requires him to be monitored by a licensed health professional when using anesthesia or conscious sedation.

Turbyfill was formerly a partner of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates on North 9th Avenue.

His license has been restricted since April, when the state health department issued an emergency order after the allegations surfaced.

The department filed an administrative complaint later that month stating that staff members had seen Turbyfill acting inappropriately with three female patients on four occasions, twice with the same patient, between Nov. 16 and Feb. 20. Among claims in the complaint, witnesses alleged that Turbyville was seen moving his hips and pelvic region suggestively near patients and seemed to be sexually aroused in the presence of some patients — covering his groin and leaving the room on more than one occasion.

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)

Antoine Dental Centers tells Texas HHSC-OIG to “Stick” it

Antoine Dental Center (ADC) and owner Dr. Behzad Nazari, was been placed on an administrative Credible Allegations of Fraud (CAF) 100% payment hold from Medicaid reimbursements/payments in Texas in April 2012.

CAF - Federal law defines a “credible allegation of fraud” as an “allegation, which has been verified by the State, from any source.” 42 CFR § 455.2 states that the source of these allegations may include, but are not limited to, “(1) fraud hotline complaints, (2) claims data mining, (3) patterns identified through provider audits, civil false claims cases, and law enforcement investigations. Allegations are considered credible when they have indicia of reliability and the State Medicaid Agency has reviewed all allegations, facts, and evidence carefully and acts judiciously on a case-by-case basis.

Since Dr. Nazari disagreed with this payment hold he filed a suit against Texas Health and Human Services Commission – Office of Inspector General (HHSC-OIG) —State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) Docket No. 529-13-0997; HHSC-OIG Case number P20111316523848911.

On May 28, 2013 four days of hearings began where evidence from both sides was presented to the judges at the SOAH in Austin.

On August 23, 2013 both sides filed their written Briefs and Closing Arguments.  They can be read by clicking the links at the end. 

One Brief and Closing made perfect sense, with facts and logic along with visual aids.  One sounded like a babbling idiot recounting a fairy tale. Guess which was which.

ADC and Dr. Nazari seem to think that division, and possibly the whole OIG office, is completely unnecessary.

In the ADC Brief and Closing Argument they state:

“How can the OIG support any credible aggregations of impropriety regarding HDL score sheets when the underlying diagnostic material was made available to the State and the State pre-approved the analysis that was reflected on the HDL score sheets? “

Why bother?

This is embarrassing on so many levels!  Why even bother?!  Why bother prosecuting?  Why bother reporting it?

 

The state attorney general's office says there's a criminal and civil settlement with a Rochester dentist who fraudulently billed Medicaid.

The office says Dr. Samir Khalil previously plead guilty to grand larceny charges. According to the felony complaint, he improperly received more than $480,000 from Medicaid over a four year period. In addition, the office says he "upcoded" and billed Medicaid for claims and services which resulted in more than $3,000 in false billings.

Investigators say he collected the money through his company Parkwood Dental Care on Elmwood Avenue.

"As taxpayers, we rely on a good health care system for all of us," says Catherine Wagner of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Unit. "When a provider defrauds it and takes advantage it's a trickle effect on the integrity of the health care program of Medicaid and other programs."

The office says Khalil completed the last of his payments back to New York State and was sentenced to full restitution and community service on his felony conviction.

Dr. Richard Malouf’s All Smiles Dental has been purchased by another “chain” in Texas–South Texas Dental

Bill Hethcock

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

Email  | Twitter  | Twitter  | Google+

South Texas Dental, which operates family dental centers in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio, has acquired the 12 offices of the All Smiles general dentistry practice in North Texas.

Financial terms of the transaction were not released.

Three of the offices are in Dallas, two are in Fort Worth, two are in Arlington and single offices are in Garland, Grand Prairie, Haltom City, Irving and McKinney.

Each of the acquired offices has been re-branded as South Texas Dental, and staffing levels and hours of operations will remain unchanged. Each office will accept Medicaid, CHIP and most insurance providers.

South Texas Dental representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

South Texas Dental now operates 38 family dental centers. The centers are owned entirely by their dentist partners, who make all decisions involving patient care.

“This transaction allows us to acquire dental centers with an established base of satisfied patients,” Dr. Chad Park of South Texas Dental said in a press release. “We spent a great deal of time evaluating each center and patient charts before proceeding with the acquisition.”

I don’t know how much real time was spent “evaluating” each of Malouf’s clinics, but I bet they didn’t doing much digging or the bones would have surfaced.

 

 

 

Lawsuit Proceeds Against Dental Chain That Left Child in Pain

By John CaherContactAll Articles

New York Law Journal

August 20, 2013

A chain of dental offices geared toward children covered by Medicaid whose employees claimed it was normal for a 4-year-old patient to be "swollen, in pain, crying, visibly shaken, upset and afraid of the dentist" after drillings, often done without anesthesia, has been denied summary judgment.

Read more: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202616144209&Lawsuit_Proceeds_Against_Dental_Chain_That_Left_Child_in_Pain#ixzz2cXaRJYQI

Yeah, it requires premium membership which I don’t have, but at least the Small Smiles cases are in the New York Law Journal

Ever wonder just what caliber of dentists the ADA considers distinguish enough to be a District Trustee?

Here is why their judgment should not be trusted.  

Maybe you remember Dr. Thomas Floyd from his mug shot? No? 

Well, maybe the news reports below about the distinguished gentleman (sarcasm) will jog your memory. Or educate those who are familiar with Dr. Thomas Floyd.

• Dr. Thomas Floyd on Google
• Menace to Society–Dr. Thomas Floyd–finally stripped of dental license
• Other Blog posts related to Dr. Thomas Floyd

Below is an announcement by the ADA stating what a glorious event the “Medicaid Challenges and Strategies Symposium” of 2008 turned out to be, which included the leaders of each of the ADA’s 17 "trustee districts” 

 

August 04, 2008

Medicaid challenges, strategies examined

By Stacie Crozier

Seventeen private practice dentists—one from each ADA district—who logged at least 1,000 Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program patient visits in the last year gathered at the ADA June 23 to identify challenges and successful strategies for improving access for this population group.

[We all know Dr. Thomas Floyd probably logged that many a week! Wonder what the other 16 dentists “logged”].