Dental News

Hoverboard Riding Dentist Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Seth Lookhart, an Alaska based dentist, was charged with 17 counts of Medicaid fraud after prosecutors said that he billed Medicaid $1.8 million last year for...

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Founder & Chief Dentist · Indira Dental Clinic; DentalReach

1 min read6,050 views
  • patient safety
  • Professional Misconduct and Regulation
  • professional education
  • sedation
  • medical ethics
  • dentistry
  • dental misconduct
  • medicaid fraud
  • Dental News
Seth Lookhart, an Alaska based dentist, was charged with 17 counts of Medicaid fraud after prosecutors said that he billed Medicaid $1.8 million last year for IV sedation used in procedures that didn’t call for it. In addition to this, investigators also found a video on Lookhart’s phone of him riding a hoverboard while extracting a sedated patient’s tooth. When the patient was asked about it, she said that she was unaware of the incident because of the effect of sedation. https://youtu.be/eMCe5VEDO8I Evidence presented at trial showed other patients were left unattended while sedated, had breathing and heart complications, and in some cases nearly died. Patients also testified they woke from anesthesia to discover Lookhart worked on or removed the wrong teeth or strayed from agreed treatment plans. In the superior court, he was found guilty of pressuring patients to needlessly undergo intravenous sedation to bill Medicaid for the service. He was sentenced to serve a prison of 12 years by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton. The state requested that the court order Lookhart to pay more than $2 million in restitution for Medicaid fraud. Source: NBC News

References

  1. [1]World Health Organization. Global Strategy and Action Plan on Oral Health 2023–2030 World Health Organization. 2024. Available at: source
  2. [2]FDI World Dental Federation. Vision 2030: Delivering Optimal Oral Health for All FDI World Dental Federation. 2021. Available at: source

Written by

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Founder & Chief Dentist · Indira Dental Clinic; DentalReach

Dr. Rockson Samuel is a dental surgeon, healthcare content strategist, and Founder and Chief Dentist of Indira Dental Clinic in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. He provides comprehensive general and family dental care with professional interests in endodontics, implant dentistry, clear aligner therapy, digital dentistry, preventive care and patient education. A graduate of K.G.F. College of Dental Sciences and Hospital under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, he also has formal training in management and digital marketing. As Community Leader at DentalReach, he contributes to dental publishing, professional education, international media partnerships and the development of evidence-informed resources for dentists.