In Dentists

Pennsylvania dentist convicted for illegal prescriptions

A jury found Christopher Bereznak, DMD, guilty of prescribing controlled substances to the late Ashley Gammon, the Wyoming County Press Examiner reports.

What you should know:

1. The jury found Dr. Bereznak guilty of eight of nine counts of unlawful distribution and dispensing of a controlled substance.

2. Dr. Bereznak wrote Ms. Gammon prescriptions for carisoprodol, Percocet and Valium.

3. Ms. Gammon died of a heroin overdose in July 2016. She was 25. Dr. Bereznak was not charged in connection to her death because the drugs he prescribed did not play a part in it.

4. Dr. Bereznak had a dental practice in Tunkhannock, Pa. He met Ms. Gammon online in 2016. His lawyer attempted to portray the prescriptions as medically necessary, despite the duo's relationship.

5. Text messages between the couple presented the relationship in a different light. Dr. Bereznak told Ms. Gammon what to say to the pharmacist if questioned about the prescription, and in a text to an employee, Dr. Bereznak said, "If I don’t prescribe drugs for her, she stops talking to me."

6. Dr. Bereznak will be sentenced Nov. 25.

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