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Dozens More Parents Join Lawsuits Against Children’s Dental Group in Anaheim

February 18, 2019

An Orange Country dental clinic is now facing legal repercussions for its unethical

dentistry practices. The crimes of the clinic allegedly include negligence, medical malpractice,

medical battery, and false imprisonment. The clinic had found a sinister system to generate their

profits. They targeted lower-income families, as these were likely to have medical coverage.

They conducted their work on children, having the parents sign waivers and then barring them

from entry. The children were strapped down and excessive and unnecessary procedures were

completed, under unsanitary and unsafe conditions. In this conveyor-belt style of dentistry, it was

not uncommon for 100 procedures a day to be completed. The clinic fell under the gaze of the

public eye when 57 children were hospitalized due to bacteria-infected water, caused by

negligent cleaning conditions.

My project topic is dental ethics, and the dentists who took part in this event certainly

took unethical dentistry to new heights. The dentists were unethical in at least three major

categories. First and foremost, the dentists performed procedures that were “unnecessary” and

detrimental to the health of the patients. Second, they were negligent in that they conducted their

procedures in unsanitary conditions, having allowed their water to become “contaminated” by

“mycobacteria.” Thirdly, they didn’t provide full disclosure of what procedures were to be

conducted and under what conditions; there was no patient consent. These dentists epitomized

the opposite of what my project demonstrates; ethical dental practices. As my project

emphasizes, the root of dental ethical dilemmas is most often greed, and this event was no

different. The unethical dentistry was practiced for money, and thus this event serves as a
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reminder that the “profit before patient” mentality has a slippery slope, and that even if morality

isn’t enough, unethical practices are unsustainable due to legal consequences.

My feelings on this topic are a combination of surprise and disgust. My disgust at the

actions of these dentists should require no explanation; their actions were abhorrent. I’m cynical

enough to believe that this could happen, but my surprise is at the fact that such as a practice

could subsist for as long as it did. I would have expected the legal system to have caught it far

sooner than it did, and I question how this practice fell through the cracks the way that it did. If

this practice made it as long as it did, other practices must also be operating in similar fashion,

and I hope this incident will result in greater scrutiny of suspect practices, particularly corporate

chains. I also wonder if the patients will receive compensation for fees and damages, as waivers

were signed prior to procedures being done. If the dentists can avoid serious legal ramifications

due to these waivers, it will set a dark precedent for patients everywhere. All in all, these was a

horrendous event that should never have happened, and I hope that the victims get to see their

justice.

Service, City News. “Dozens More Parents Join Lawsuits Against Children's Dental Group in

Anaheim.” NBC Southern California, NBC Southern California, 17 Jan. 2019,

www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Parents-Lawsuits-Dental-Group-in-Anaheim-

504476661.html.