For some reasons, all of the dentist ethics stories I come across are really weird. So is this one.
In Anchorage, Alaska, dentist Seth Lookhart extracted a sedated Veronica Wilhelm’s tooth in July 2016 ….while riding a hoverboard. This was prosecuted as an “unlawful dental act” that “does not conform to minimum professional standards of dentistry.”
Yes, that sounds fair.
I would have said “allegedly,” except that Dr. Lookhart filmed himself while he performed this stunt (which his unconscious patient had not consented to) and texted the video to at least eight people. In the text messages, Lookhart referred to his actions as a “new standard of care.”
Yes, he’s a fun dentist.
He’s also a crooked dentist when he isn’t on his hoverboard. Lockhart was charged with theft and engaging in a “scheme to defraud” Medicaid, fraudulently billing at least $1.8 million to Medicaid and stealing over $250,000 from business partners.
Last week he was convicted of all charges. Veronica Wilhelm testified against Lookhart in December, saying, “What you did was outrageous, narcissistic and crazy.” Paul Stockler, the dentist’s attorney, said in court, “I want you to know that as his lawyer, I apologize for what he did on that hoverboard.”
See what I mean? Weird. What a strange ethics alarm to be missing: “things it’s unethical to do on a hoverboard.”
Oh—-The Alaska Dental Board has suspended Lookhart’s dental license. It would have been weird if it didn’t.
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Ethics Alarms 