A state dentistry board member whose company has been accused of performing painful, unnecessary dental work on children as part of a Medicaid fraud scheme has resigned.

Dale Mayfield, who has resigned from the state dentistry board at Gov. Deal’s request, is pictured here on the Efficiency in Group Practice website, at DentalGroupPractice.com.
icon to expand image

Gov. Nathan Deal asked Dale G. Mayfield, chief dental officer for Marietta-based Kool Smiles, to step down on Tuesday amid questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his position on the Georgia Board of Dentistry.

“Given the distractions that might be caused,” Mayfield said in a written statement Tuesday, “by news of the voluntary settlement between Kool Smiles and the government regarding services rendered more than seven years ago, I felt it was in the best interest of the board for me to step down.”

This month, Mayfield and his company settled a case with the U.S. Justice Department for $23.9 million, after the feds accused Kool Smiles of committing millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud in by filing hundreds of thousands of false claims. A 2013 federal complaint said the company preyed on low-income children.

Read the AJC's premium story on the fraud allegations against Mayfield's company, with more about his resignation, at MyAJC.com.

About the Author

Keep Reading

An aerial photo shows some of the homes in Buckhead nestled in trees against part of the Atlanta skyline. Atlanta has adopted a goal of 50% canopy coverage, but the city’s tree cover has been short of that mark for years. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2021)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Featured

The Midtown Atlanta skyline is shown in the background as an employee works in Cargill's new office, Jan. 16, 2025, in Atlanta.  (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com