From sexual assault charges to indefinite license suspensions, below are seven dentists making headlines this week:
1. Emad Fathy Moawad, DDS, of Alegria Dental Center in Los Angeles, was charged June 14 for allegedly sexually abusing nine patients.
2. The Dental Commission indefinitely suspended the license of Luke Edward St. Marie, DDS, after the Renton, Wash.-based dentist allegedly wrote prescriptions outside of a provider-patient relationship, didn't properly document prescriptions, rewrote an altered prescription, didn't report that his prescription pad may have been compromised and didn't take necessary steps to ensure all prescriptions issued under his authority were valid.
3. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has filed new claims against Mouhab Rizkallah, DDS, alleging he charged patients for missed and canceled appointments.
4. Kari Hexem, DMD, chief dental officer at Philadelphia FIGHT Family Dentistry, described a significant decline in this year's patient volume compared to pre-pandemic times.
5. Chicago-based Aspen Dental opened its 900th U.S. office. The Mount Pocono, Pa.-based practice is led by both Shekhar Gupta, DDS, and Neelam Attri, DDS.
6. Craig Bradford, DMD, a pediatric dentist who practiced in Natchez, Miss., died June 19 in a tractor accident.