US dentist put thousands at HIV risk

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent letters to 8,000 patients of dentist Stephen Stein, urging them to seek tests for the diseases after learning of unsafe injection practices at two Denver-area clinics he owned between September 1999 and June 2011.Investigators found that Stein reused needles and syringes in several patients intravenous lines at his oral surgery and dental implant clinics, in violation of standard medical protocol, the department said in a statement.This practice has been shown to transmit infections, the statement said. It added that there had been no confirmed cases of anyone contracting the viral infections through Steins clinics.In the letters sent to Steins former patients, the health department urged them to be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, said Jan Stapleman, a department spokeswoman.Steins records were incomplete, so it is likely more people were possibly exposed than those already identified, she said.A hot line established for Steins patients to call was very busy all day on Friday, Stapleman said.Steins lawyer, Victoria Lovato, said her client is cooperating with the states investigation.Authorities said any patient who underwent any type of injection at the clinics, including sedation, might be at risk. They cautioned that if any patients of Stein tested positive for any of the viruses, there was no way to determine how they contracted the disease.Steins license to practice dentistry in Colorado was suspended for an unrelated matter, said Cory Everett-Lozano, spokeswoman for the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, which oversees medical licenses.Until that probe is resolved, the reasons for Steins current suspension are confidential, she said.Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Denver, said Stein was already the target of a criminal probe for possible prescription fraud before the allegations emerged about reusing syringes. She said no criminal charges had so far been filed.