NYC Dentist Did Unnecessary Root Canal On Kids, Pays $753K: AG

NEW YORK CITY — A New York City dentist who subjected children to unnecessary root canals in a scheme to defraud Medicaid agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle his case, the Attorney General announced Thursday.

Dr. Barry Jacobson — a dentist with practices in Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx — will pay $753,457 to end an investigation into "baby root canals" his young patients did not need, Letitia James said.

“Dr. Jacobson and HQRC allegedly performed unnecessary and invasive dental procedures on children to line their own pockets,” said Attorney General James.

“My office will not tolerate any instance of medically unnecessary procedures performed on vulnerable Medicaid beneficiaries."

Jacobson and affiliate HQRC, or PDS Management Solutions, conducted the painful and unnecessary procedure on children in New York, New Jersey and Vermont for seven years between 2011 and 2018, prosecutors contend.

The dental practice had 13 offices, four of which were in New York City.

New York City Offices:

• Pediatric Dentistry of Flushing
• Pediatric Dentistry of the Bronx
• Pediatric Dentistry of Avenue U
• Pediatric Dentistry of Boro Park

The dentists billed Medicaid for the pulpotomies — a procedure that involves removing pieces of teeth and capping with a filling or crown — and raked in the cash, prosecutors contend

The Attorney General began investigating when a former employee blew the whistle and a lawsuit was filed under the New York False Claims Acts, said prosecutors.

Prosecutors said $313,783 of the settlement cash will be divvied up between New Jersey and New York for damages to the states' Medicaid systems.

“It is unconscionable that a medical professional would create a health services business that performs unneeded dental procedures on children simply to make money,” said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

“Recovering their ill-gotten gains only begins to undo this damage."