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| DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST DENTISTS BY STATE DENTAL BOARDS |
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Disciplinary actions are those taken by a State Dental Board against a licensed or unlicensed dental professional for violations of their Dental Practice Act or standards of care. They are often taken only in response to a complaint by a patient. This approach is concerning for Sargenti injured patients as by the time the complaint is made, the patient is already injured. All citizens must know to avoid root canals containing Sargenti Paste or any other paraformaldehyde containing material.
Many violations of a state's dental practice acts go unreported. Many states do not publish disciplinary actions and are slow to provide them to the general public, if ever. As we obtain additional administrative cases, we will include them on this page. We know there are more.
Location |
Date |
Dentist |
Disciplinary Action |
*NEW*
Madison, Alabama
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12/2006 |
REDACTED
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The Alabama Board of Dental Examiners disciplined three Madison dentists for gross negligence related to the treatment of a patient, Lorraine (Lorrie) Hellier, during a 2005 Sargenti Paste root canal procedure and subsequent treatments. Sargenti paste was grossly overfilled into Ms Hellier's nerve canal and even with xrays that clearly showed an extreme overfill, she was advised that her complaints of numbness and burning pain were due to the novacaine injection "nicking" the nerve. Nothing could be wrong with the root canal, she was told. This patient was left to diagnosis herself and she did not discover the true source of her problems until it was too late to reverse the permanent damage. The complaint that Ms. Hellier filed with the AL State Dental Board (below) agrees with many other stories about the lengths that Sargenti using dentists will go to to conceal their use of this material and the devastating impact that concealment can have on an innocent patient.
Lorrie's complaint to the Alabama Dental Board can be found here.
The case filed against the dentists by the Alabama State Dental Board can be found here.
The dental board actions taken against Dr. A can be found here.
The dental board actions taken against Dr. B can be found here.
The Alabama dental board actions taken against Dr. C can be found here. She later moved to Georgia and was again sanctioned by the Georgia Board of Dentistry, which can be found here.
Read the AL Dental Board Ordered Consent Form levied on the dentists for informed consent when Sargenti is being used. There are a number of issues with the seriously incomplete Sargenti paragraph. There is no agreement that a root canal patient may incur those risks, it uses medical terms that patients will not know, it omits anaphylactic shock, omits that the FDA rejected it in 1993 for safety concerns, omits that every accredited dental school teaches NOT to use it, omits that the ADA does not recommend it and among others, omits to include the AAE statement.
By signing this, the patient is NOT consenting to the risks of a Sargenti root canal and even if they were, a patient cannot consent to negligent treatment and using Sargenti Paste is negligence. All sargenti root canals should be followed up with a call to a good dental malpractice attorney and a complaint to the state dental licensing board.
For legal considerations, the dentist's names and street address have been redacted from the above information and links. |
*NEW*
Virginia
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October 13, 2006 |
Oluybukunola Oduyelu, D.D.S. |
[Dr. Oduyelu] on or about September 5, 2002, during his treatment of Patient A, a three year old female, the caustic chemical Formo-Cresol came into contact with Patient A’s lower lip, chin, neck and upper sternal area, resulting in first, second and third degree chemical burns, and subsequent permanent scarring. Further, he conducted himself in an unprofessional manner in that he failed to inform Patient A’s mother that her daughter had suffered chemical burns caused by contact with Formo-Cresol and needed the immediate attention of a physician. Instead, he falsely told Patient A’s mother that her daughter may have suffered a possible reaction to the latex gloves worn by him and his assistant.
The sanctions reported by Ms. Kiczales were that Dr. Oduyelu be issued a reprimand, be required to complete four (4) continuing education hours in risk management, and be assessed a monetary penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000). (link)
[It is unbelievable that the Virginia dental board barely reprimanded this dentist for concealing the use of a well known dangerous product.] |
Colorado |
1/1/05 - 6/30/07 Unknown specific date |
Skromme, Allan, D.D.S |
Stipulation based upon performing root canal using Sargenti Paste, small tip of file broke in mesial root respondent stated he notified patient, neight notification nor broken file were documented in patient's records, teeth underfile during root canal therapy; probation, 4 hrs. risk management, 40 hrs. endodontics, and never to use the Sargenti technique in dental practice until use specifically approved by FDA. Link |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
November 2, 2005 |
Dr. Peter Hehli |
The Dentistry Examining Board reprimanded Peter
Hehli and permanently prohibited Dr. Hehli from using the Sargenti technique or paste in performing endodontic treatment in his dental practice. [As recent as Spring 2008, Dr. Hehli has been an active contributor to the organization, the American Endodontic Society, whose primary (and most likely ONLY) purpose is to promote, facilitate and use Sargenti Paste.] The Board also ordered Hehli to pay costs of $4,618.83 and a
forfeiture of $500.00. The Board found Hehli’s treatment of two patients constituted less
than minimally competent practice of dentistry.
Section DE 5.02(5) Wis. Adm. Code. Link.
Dr. Hehli's testimony during the disciplinary hearing states that 99 out of 100 dentists think Sargenti Paste is unacceptable and he will never use Sargenti technique (which includes the materials) again.. What has changed in his position that he is now an active contributor to the American Endodontic Society "Politicial Action Fund"?
The full transcript can be found at this link. Excerpts are below -
Upon further questioning, Dr. Hehlii elaborated about the technique and explained that it was practiced by a very small percentage of dentists as compared to the American Association of Endodontics who practice the gutta-percha method:
"I guess that I mean that there’s a small percentage of dentists - - in fact they have their own group that practice the Sargenti method, but it’s a very small minority. And if you asked a hundred dentists, 99 of them would say that it’s not acceptable." [Tr. at pg. 66]
Dr. Hehli’s view of the efficacy of the Sargenti technique as an endodontic treatment and his use of it has changed dramatically since this disciplinary process began. He testified that he stopped using the Sargenti method as soon as it was brought to his attention by the Division of Enforcement and he signed the stipulation agreeing to discipline. [Tr. at pg. 45]. Dr. Hehli also testified that he does not intend to ever use that technique in a root canal procedure again. [Tr. at pg. 46]
The testimony also states that "Dr. Hehli has been an associate member of the American Association of Endodontists [AAE] since April 16, 2004". The AAE has a strong position against the use of Sargenti Paste and considers any dentist performing a root canal with it is practicing below the standard of acceptable dental care.
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Madison, Wisconsin |
September 28, 2005 |
Kenneth R. Sachtjen, DDS |
Respondent did the root canal work on J.J.’s teeth using a modified version of the Sargenti Technique – a technique that, instead of cleaning and disinfecting the canals of an infected tooth, calls on a dentist to pack an infected tooth using a root canal filler which contains zinc-oxide, eugenol and paraformaldehyde, a potentially lethal substance. The Sargenti technique does not require the root canals to be completely disinfected before the tooth may be filled.
The conduct described in paragraphs # 4-8 above, including the use of the modified Sargenti Technique, constitutes a violation of Wis. Stat. § 447.07(3)(h).
The Dentistry Examining Board hereby accepts the SURRENDER of the license of Kenneth R. Sachtjen, DDS, Respondent, to practice dentistry in the state of Wisconsin. Link |
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Injured patients should file an adverse event report with the FDA.
Absent
reports from the public, the FDA will not realize the extent
of the dangers
of Sargent Paste. Click here to file report. Also ask
your doctor to file a
report on your behalf. Since reports are
voluntary over 90% of adverse events go unreported.