Becker's Dental + DSO Review

5 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 4 OCTOBER 2020 Boston dental school lays off, furloughs 20% of staff By Katie Adams B oston-based Tufts University School of Dental Med- icine on Aug. 25 disclosed its plans to lay off or fur- lough nearly 20 percent of its employees, accord- ing to The Boston Globe. The dental school said it will lay off 77 employees and place 26 employees on furlough for four months. This is the school's first round of staffing cuts since the pandem- ic began, a decision made to offset the $22 million in loss- es it has undergone since the beginning of the pandemic. These financial woes resulted from having to close all but one of its clinics during the state's period of mandated dental office closures. The sole clinic remained open to serve just 12 emergency patients a day during this time, but the school's clinics used to provide dental care to 625 patients a day. The losses also stem from purchases the school had to make to ensure safe operations amid the pandemic, such as plexiglass shields, personal protective equipment and air flow systems, Tufts representatives told The Boston Globe. "Our priority throughout this process has been main- taining the quality of our core education, clinical, and research missions," Nadeem Karimbux, DMD, the dental school's dean, said in a message to staff. "We are con- fident that the education and care we provide, and the research we conduct, will continue to be of the highest quality." n Hoverboard dentist sentenced to prison By Gabrielle Masson A n Alaska dentist who extracted a patient's tooth while on a hoverboard received a 12-year prison sentence for dozens of charges, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Seth Lookhart, DMD, was found guilty by a jury in January on 46 charges including Medicaid fraud, embezzlement, reckless en- dangerment and unlawful dental acts. The dentist unnecessarily sedated patients to maximize Medicaid payments, removed teeth without permission and failed to meet professional patient care standards. "In reviewing all this over and over again, I have this visceral re- sponse — you darn near killed some people," Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said Sept. 14 to Dr. Lookhart. n Minnesota dentist dies in plane crash By Gabrielle Masson A Minnesota dentist has been identified as the sole victim in an Aug. 20 plane crash, according to Fox's KMSP-TV. Fifty-eight year old Kyle Edlund, DDS, worked at Wood- bury (Minn.) Dental Care for more than 30 years. He earned multiple honors as a top dentist in the area and even worked as the team dentist for the Minnesota Wild hockey team. Dr. Edlund was headed to his cabin last week when the plane he was flying crashed into a lake, according to the Lake Coun- ty Sheriff's Office. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash. "I think we're going to realize how much more we miss him ev- ery single day," said Michael Pelke, DDS, Dr. Edlund's business partner at Woodbury Dental Care. "He lived life to the fullest. He created a lot of joy," said Dr. Pelke. "He helped a lot of people. I think we're in this world to help bring people up and Kyle did a lot of that." n DENTAL PROFESSIONALS

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