Charges vs US dentist who pulled 20 teeth
HARTFORD, Connecticut— A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and several implants installed.
Rashmi Patel turned himself in Tuesday at the Enfield Police Department and was charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police said. Patel has offices in Enfield and Torrington.
The charges came a year after Patel's patient Judith Gan died at a hospital on February 17, 2014. State dental regulators concluded that Patel failed to adequately respond when Gan's oxygen levels dropped dangerously low as she was consciously sedated in the middle of the tooth extraction and implant procedures in his Enfield office that day.
Patel, who posted $25,000 bail, has denied any wrongdoing in his treatment of Gan.
"Doctor Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," his attorney Paul Knag said in a statement Wednesday.
Gan's death and other incidents prompted the State Dental Commission in December to suspend Patel's license pending a monthslong review of his practice and permanently ban him from performing conscious sedation.
But, Krag said, the commission did not revoke Patel's license.
"In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple expert witnesses testified that Dr. Patel followed the standard of care," Krag said. "The state's seeking of criminal charges is contrary to this evidence and inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not to revoke his license."