The licenses of two Virginia dentists were suspended by the Virginia Board of Dentistry for alleged drug infractions in exchange for dental work, WTKR reported.
Gary Hartman and Arnold Joseph Berger, of Virginia Beach, were ordered to stop practicing dentistry, the television station reported. Hartman's license was suspended Dec. 20, 2018, while Berger's license was suspended Feb. 1.
According to the summary of suspension, Hartman is accused of prescribing more than 46,000 hydrocodone pills, more than 20,000 Soma pills and nearly 8,000 oxycodone pills to patients he had not seen or who did not need the large dosages they were prescribed. Hartman is also accused of prescribing doses of Vicodin, tramadol, sleeping pills and anxiety medications to patients, according to the Board of Dentistry.
One patient reported to the Drug Enforcement Agency that Hartman traded dental work for pain pills, fixing teeth or giving treatment without insurance in exchange for filling a prescription the dentist wrote and turning the pills over to him.
Investigators said Berger not only filled prescriptions for Hartman, but also illegally prescribed opioids to his patients and his wife, according to Board of Dentistry documents.
The Board of Dentistry said Hartman's hearing for the suspension of his license is set for May, WTKR reported. Berger's was scheduled for March but will be continued, the television station reported.
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