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On March 28, the Oklahoma Board of
Dentistry said that state and county health inspectors visited the practice of
oral surgeon Dr. W. Scott Harrington in Tulsa, Okla., after a patient without
other known risk factors tested positive for both hepatitis C and HIV.
During their inspection, they found
cross-contamination of instruments and the use of a separate, rusty set of
instruments for patients known to carry infectious diseases. Harrington has
voluntarily closed both his practice in Tulsa and in suburban Oswasso and is
cooperating with investigators.
According to a dentistry board
complaint, Harrington and his staff told investigators that a “high population
of known infectious disease carrier patients” received dental care from him.
The complaint also stated that a device used to sterilize dental instruments
was not working properly and that a dental assistant who had been working for
the practice for 6 years had never once witnessed the dentist or other staff
perform a test that was supposed to be performed monthly and sent to a lab to
determine if this device was successfully sterilizing the equipment.
Officials are sending letters to
encourage testing for hepatitis B and C as well as HIV to the 7,000 patients
who have received treatment at Harrington’s clinics in Tulsa and Owasso since
2007, but they do not have information for individuals who may have been
treated before that time; Harrington has been practicing for 36 years.
Harrington will attend a hearing on April 19 and could lose his license.
The Tulsa Health Department’s North
Regional Health and Wellness Center will offer free testing for patients.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
