A Middlefield dentist faces criminal charges for the unlicensed practice of dentistry and prescribing narcotics without a license.
The Ohio State Dental Board suspended the license of Dr. Jeffrey Becker, of Dental Specialty Group, 14982 S. State Ave., Middlefield, on May 19 for failure to undergo an assessment for drug and alcohol impairment.
It was the second time in the last 10 years his license was suspended. In 2008, Becker’s license was suspended for practicing outside his declared specialty of periodontics.
He also had his license revoked in Wisconsin in 2013 for violating laws relating to controlled substances, practicing dentistry in a manner that created an unacceptable risk of harm to patients and administering improper doses of anesthetics.
But instead of complying with the terms of his suspension, not only did Becker treat patients in his Middlefield office after May 19, he also prescribed narcotics and sedated patients.
“We were alerted toward the end of May that he personally had extracted a tooth and had prescribed medication,” Barb Yehnert, an enforcement officer with the dental board told the Geauga County Maple Leaf. “He didn’t have a license to practice dentistry, so he couldn’t actually prescribe.”
The unlicensed practice took place in Geauga County, she added.
On June 13, Yehnert said she went to Becker’s Middlefield office and confronted him about the alleged violation.
“He admitted he was practicing and said he was practicing because he cared about his patients and they were in pain, and he was trying to help them,” she said.
Days later, on June 17, one of Becker’s former patients called the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office when he refused to hand over her dental records.
Investigator Rick Warner said he ran a simple Google search on Becker and learned he had previous run-ins with the state dental board and that his license was suspended.
Warner confirmed Becker’s suspension with the dental board and was given a copy of a prescription for a scheduled narcotic Becker had issued a patient on June 3 — more than two weeks after his license had been suspended.
He also was provided a copy of the June 13 recording where Becker admitted to practicing dentistry without a license and seeing patients after his license was suspended.
Warner attempted to pose in an undercover capacity as a new patient requesting dental service from Becker. He was told by the answering service the Middlefield office was closed. He then went to the office and found it locked and unoccupied.
“When we found out the office had closed and he had moved stuff out — because we went out to spot check the business — we got notice from the answering service that the office was going to be temporarily closed because he had some minor surgery,” Warner said.
During this time, prosecutors also learned the name of another patient who saw Becker on June 3 and was put under sedation for a dental procedure. The patient was given a scheduled narcotic intravenously that he was not even authorized to use on patients, Warner said.
He added, “So, what started out maybe as misdemeanor practicing without a dental license now becomes felony corrupting someone with drugs.”
That is when the prosecutor’s office decided to move forward.
Last Thursday, investigators executed a search warrant for storage lockers Becker rented in Middlefield. They seized Becker’s patient list for his Middlefield and Norwalk, Ohio, offices.
Warner noted they did not seize any patient medical records. Patients will need to contact Becker to obtain their medical records or pursue some other means to obtain them.
“It’s unfortunate that a lot of people gave him a lot of money,” Warner said. “This guy just screwed up a lot of people’s lives and it’s very unfortunate because, from the angle we’re looking at it, from the criminal aspect of it, anything before May 18, I don’t know that we can necessarily help them because he was a licensed practitioner.”
Yehnert said the likelihood of Becker ever regaining his dental license is “not that good” because of the associated financial burden and the expected criminal charges.
She also said state regulators will be looking into whether Becker was using products approved for use in the United States.
Becker had mentioned he was using products purchased out of Israel. That doesn’t mean they are not approved for use in the U.S., Yehnert explained, but it is something that needs to be researched.
The Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office is asking anyone who received dental services from Becker after May 18 to call 440-279-2100 or the Village of Middlefield Police Department at 440-632-3527.