For the last five years the CDC has been warning parents that if they don't start getting their kids to brush their teeth cavities would be coming in droves [PDF]. But apparently parents had other things to worry about and, the Times reports, the number of tykes being put under for dental surgery nationwide is now booming. Another reason to put fluoride in the tap water! more ›

A New Jersey dentist is being investigated after a 3-year-old boy died in his care last week. Dentist Patrick Bamgboye, 64, was still on probation for an incident eight years ago in which a 6-year-old girl died during a routine procedure when the tragedy occurred. "I feel sad. I feel defeated," the boy's mother Antonia Chajchalac-Garcia, said through an interpreter. "I keep thinking: Why did I take him? Why did I have to take him?" more ›

Mommy blogger Elyssa Stern allegedly offered to pay off a $45K dental bill by publishing a four page glowing review in the Observer's Playground magazine, which she is the editor-in-chief of. According to the Daily News, Stern is now being sued by the dental practice (Lowenberg & Lituchy DDS) after the article never ran, and the bill has remained unpaid. more ›

After the Post reported that some dentists were paying cash to poor Medicaid-card holders for procedures—allowing the dentists to charge Medicaid many times more—Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to seize the assets of the dentists involved. Today, the Post has a photograph of "Agents serv[ing] papers at accused Medicaid fraudster David Ibragimov's Kew Gardens mansion, which they want to seize." Four of the dentists involved in the $7 million scam are now cooperating with the state; one "further admitted to knowing that 'flyer boys' went around rounding up patients in the area, mostly from homeless shelters, and brought them to the clinics in groups." more ›

For two days now the Post has reported on street hawkers who lure Meidcaid recipients to dental clinics, offering cash payments to don the bib—today it turned its focus to the allegedly fraudulent doctors. Billing Medicaid $29 for oral exams, $58 for teeth X-rays, $58 for cleanings and $14 for fluoride treatments, dentists pay the patients around $15-20 per visit, and usually give the shills $10 per person they bring in. more ›

Sketchy Harlem dental clinics aren't the only ones paying low-income New Yorkers to undergo teeth cleanings, the mayor is doing it too! Results are in for Mayor Bloomberg's Family Rewards Program, an effort to promote good habits among poor people by handing out cash. Since the program began two years ago 2,400 families took part receiving a total of $14 million to do responsible things like getting health insurance and attending parent-teacher conferences. There has been some success—10% more families got dental check-ups and others opened bank accounts, instead of immediately cashing checks—but other areas didn't improve enough, and the city will not expand the privately-financed program (which the Post describes as "bribes") into a publicly-financed one. more ›

Reporters at the Post have uncovered yet another incidence of a potential Medicaid scam in which Harlem hustlers herd patients to dental offices, offering them small cash payments to get teeth cleanings or denture work. This time a 27-year-old street seller named Jose, who works with crew of five to seven others was ready, even eager, to chat. "I know this is a multimillion-dollar thing we're doing out here, and it's bad," he said. "Yes, [the dentists] know it's illegal. They don't care. They bill [Medicaid] $300 to $350 [for each person]. more ›

A teeth-cleaning by a third-year dental student at NYU costs $60, but in Harlem and the Bronx dentists will pay you to open wide—if you're on Medicaid that is. The Post reported today on how dental offices lure in low-income patients offering 20 bucks cash for those who undergo a teeth cleaning and 40 for partial denture work. "There's a white van around the corner by the Salvation Army ready to take you and bring you right back," said one hawker who works the streets for a Bronx clinic. According to Medicaid officials offering to pay patients "is illegal and a sign of fraud." more ›

Nearly a year and a half after a dentist was gunned down in a Queens playground while handing off his young daughter to his estranged wife, the prosecution has rested their case. Daniel Malakov had been embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with his wife Mazoltuv Borukhova, and eventually the Queens DA's office charged her with murder and conspiracy, saying she hired a relative to kill her husband. more ›

Earlier this weekend, a Connecticut jury awarded $196,880.50 to a woman who sued her dentist for giving her "horse" teeth. Realtor Marvalyn Foster had wanted a permanent bridge to replace a false tooth and her lawyer says dentist Darren Martinez claimed he'd give her a "big, beautiful Hollywood celebrity smile." However, three of her teeth were removed and the new bridge resembled horse teeth. Foster's lawyer also told the Connecticut Post, "She now faces two to five years of expensive dental treatment to give her what he had promised her -- a beautiful smile." In other dental news, a Westchester man accused of practicing dentistry without a license in his home's kitchen (he apparently says he was a licensed orthdontist in Ecuador) would give his patient wine "to help them cope with pain from treatments." more ›

The daughter of Daniel Malakov, the orthodontist who was killed on a playground by a gunman wielding a pistol with a homemade silencer, has been placed in foster care. The girl's physician mother and her family are suspects in the Queens-man's murder. Malakov was shot in front of his daughter in a Queens playground just six days after he'd gained legal custody of his daughter following a bitter custody dispute. A judge at the Queens... more ›