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Crazyyyyyy Article
- Thread starter wired202808
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clearly he only learned how to use paper clips in dental school. why else would he take that shortcut. there's just no other logical reason.
the dental school he went to probably got shut down because they taught this method. i bet it was georgetown or northwestern or emory.
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Well actually the crazier part of the story is that paper clips can be used in a very limited fashion during dental procedure. The ABC news article quoted a umkc endodontics professor saying that.
And to pkb, does it really matter where he went to school? He was a slimeball who was commiting fraud. There's bad apples at every d-school.
And to pkb, does it really matter where he went to school? He was a slimeball who was commiting fraud. There's bad apples at every d-school.
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That's absolutely disgraceful! However I am not too surprised of this. Dentists that commit these kinds of things usually get their dental education out of country where sanitation, ethics, and professionalism is not greatly emphasized, which is unfortunate!! Then they come here to practice and make American schools and dentists look bad to the whole society! ....and then there are just straight up idiots!
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First off... who even uses silver points anymore?
Secondly... is gutta percha really that expensive? I just can't imagine the savings are very big at all, especially considering that GPs aren't doing enough volume of RCT to justify the savings.
Lastly... i hope he looses his license forever.
Secondly... is gutta percha really that expensive? I just can't imagine the savings are very big at all, especially considering that GPs aren't doing enough volume of RCT to justify the savings.
Lastly... i hope he looses his license forever.
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That's actually a terrible generalization. The dentist in the article was Michael Clair. I'm pretty sure he was born and raised in America and went to dental school here as well.
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There you go. Maryland must be a terrible school. Down with Maryland!! Who's with me?
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dentist-accused-paper-clip-root-canals-15427254#.TyCsQKVSQsc
"James Kulild, a professor of endodontics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, said there are very limited circumstances under which a paper clip could be used during dental procedures. He said a paper clip should never be left in permanently.
"Paper clips do not satisfy the requirements for posts, not only because they aren't made of stainless steel but because their shape and consistency will not allow them to be functionally acceptable to use," Kulild said."
I'm only a D1 so my knowledge is pretty limited. But does any dentist or D3/D4 want to enlighten me on when you could use a paper clip? I've never seen anyone ever use a paper clip for anything or even mention one other then to hold papers together lol
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Maybe you're not understanding the article correctly or you just simply dont understand the procedure of root canal treatment. gutta percha you mention is only used to fill the canals. It is not used as a post that is used to reinforce the tooth structure(which they are mentioning in the article). a steel rod on the other hand is used to reinforce the tooth structure before build-up. They criminal wasnt using the paper clip as a silver point... he was using as a post....
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OK im not saying the guy in the article is right or anything yes he should be put in jail but I can see how he thought using sections of a paper clip is ok...... hear me out
post used in dental procedure is pretty much just a metal rod. about the thickness of a paperclip...little thicker... and its sterile. There is not much too it. I can see how a stainless steel paper clip can be a replacement for it. I mean... all you need in the build up is something sturdy that can reinforce the tooth structure. As long as the paper clip is stainless and sterile its pretty much the same thing! Maybe he ran out of posts that day and needed an alternative LOL ... but then again most dental suppliers do same day shipping...
post used in dental procedure is pretty much just a metal rod. about the thickness of a paperclip...little thicker... and its sterile. There is not much too it. I can see how a stainless steel paper clip can be a replacement for it. I mean... all you need in the build up is something sturdy that can reinforce the tooth structure. As long as the paper clip is stainless and sterile its pretty much the same thing! Maybe he ran out of posts that day and needed an alternative LOL ... but then again most dental suppliers do same day shipping...
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The next Michael Clair..... LOL
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There are two issues with what he was doing, and the use of a paperclip is not one of them. issue in this article is that he used a paperclip as a permanent solution - which is wrong. As a temp, it can slide. The other issue is that he was billing these as the stainless rods to medicaid, pocketing the difference in cost. He was committing fraud.
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From the article: "Authorities say instead of stainless steel posts for root canals, he used sections of paper clips — which can cause pain and even infection — in an effort to save money."
So instead of buying stainless steel posts, he was using paper clips to save money and bill Medicaid the full price for posts. Not to mention the charges for assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription drugs and witness intimidation.
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This was not a one time deal. He did it many times lol
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There are entire departments of the FBI and other federal investigators dedicated just to dentistry, actually. I met one detective on a plane once, he flew around the country and investigated reports just like this one. It is probably (very sadly) a common practice in dentistry to defraud the patient/insurance.
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And assault and battery! And witness intimidation!
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Thanks for the clarification. I have seen 20+ RCT and build ups, but i have yet to see a post placed. I understand their purpose, it just didn't cross my mind, because i haven't seen it.
I still don't understand, how much he could have really saved by using paperclips? The cost vs reward analysis couldn't be very much, especially when he was putting his license on the line.
