dentist

Meet the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse “the fish dentist”

By Shelton Muro 1 week ago

Do you know that the fish here in Hawai‘i go to the dentist on a regular basis to have their teeth cleaned? From large sharks to young yellow tangs, they all get free dental work, but they must go to the dentist’s office. We call their office a “cleaning station,” and the dentist is a Hawaiian cleaner wrasse.

This small, colorful fish has a territory on the reef, and when it is ready for clients it darts above the reef back and forth, flashing its bright colors. Most divers have seen this fish due to its bright-yellow, blue and purple color, but few people actually know much about the cleaner wrasse. Sometimes there will be two to three cleaner wrasse above one coral outcropping and 10 to 15 much-larger fish waiting in line to have their teeth cleaned. When the larger fish want a cleaning, they remain still right above

… Read More

Dentist who yanked patient’s tooth out while on hoverboard jailed

By Shelton Muro 1 week ago

Sorry, this video isn’t available any more.

A rogue dentist who was filmed extracting a patient’s tooth while riding a hoverboard has been jailed for 12 years for dangerous dentistry.

Seth Lockhart shot to notoriety after he was filmed pulling the tooth from unconscious patient Veronica Wilhelm while riding the gadget, and was jailed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday for crimes including knocking patients out without receiving adequate training – or their consent.

Judge Michael Wolverton said: ‘Lookhart almost killed many patients by performing anesthesia thousands of times without training or consent, on patients outside his scope of training and expertise, while stealing money from Medicaid and embezzling from his bosses.’

Lockhart let his office manager Shauna Cranford – who was in on the fraud – extract a patient’s tooth despite her not having any dental training.


Dentist Seth Lockhart working while on on hoverboard
Disgraced dentist Seth Lockhart – who was once filmed extracting a patient’s tooth
… Read More

Hoverboard-riding dentist sentenced to 12 years for Medicaid fraud

By Shelton Muro 1 week ago

An Anchorage dentist captured on video extracting a patient’s tooth as he rode a hoverboard was sentenced to 12 years for Medicaid fraud and other crimes.

Seth Lookhart’s antics “darn near killed some people,” Alaska Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said at sentencing Monday.

“And then, after that,” the judge said, “you bragged about it in your texts.”

The 2016 hoverboard stunt, which took place as Lookhart performed a tooth extraction on a sedated patient, preceded a wider probe of his practices.

Related video: How dentists aim to keep patients healthy and prevent COVID spread

Wolverton on Monday quoted that patient’s testimony from December: “What you did was outrageous, narcissistic and crazy,” Veronica Wilhelm told the court.

The 35-year-old dentist was convicted in January of more than 40 counts, including “unlawful dental acts,” reckless endangerment and Medicaid fraud.

Evidence presented at trial showed other patients were left unattended while sedated,

… Read More

Dentist recorded extracting tooth while on hoverboard gets 12 years behind bars

By Shelton Muro 2 weeks ago

An Alaska dentist who was recorded extracting a patient’s tooth while riding a hoverboard has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars.



a man wearing a suit and tie: Alaska dentist Seth Lookhart, pictured, is on trial after allegedly riding a hoverboard while extracting a sedated patient’s tooth.

© Provided by New York Daily News
Alaska dentist Seth Lookhart, pictured, is on trial after allegedly riding a hoverboard while extracting a sedated patient’s tooth.

Seth Lookhart was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday in Anchorage Superior Court on dozens of charges, including Medicaid fraud, reckless endangerment and unlawful dental acts, the Anchorage Daily News reported. What’s more, the ex-dentist will not be allowed to practice medicine during his 10-year probation period after his eventual release.

“In reviewing all this over and over again, I have this visceral response — you darn near killed some people,” Judge Michael Wolverton said.

The 2016 hoverboard cellphone video — which shows Lookhart doing dental work on a sedated patient before zipping down the hall in

… Read More

Dentist Who Removed Tooth While on a Hoverboard Sentenced to 12 Years Behind Bars

By Shelton Muro 2 weeks ago

A dentist in Alaska has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after he was found guilty of operating on a patient while on a hoverboard.



a young man sitting at a desk: Today Seth Lookhart

© Provided by People
Today Seth Lookhart

Seth Lookhart, 35, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday, nine months after he was convicted of dozens of charges that included Medicaid fraud, reckless endangerment and unlawful dental acts, Anchorage Daily News reported.

Additionally, Lookhart will not be allowed to practice medicine during his 10-year probation following his eventual release from prison.

During the sentencing, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said that Lookhart’s actions including sedating patients for exteded periods of time “darn near killed some people,” the outlet reported.

Lookhart will begin serving his sentence on December 7, the Fairfield Citizen reported.

RELATED: Wisc. Doctor and Husband Allegedly Killed by 2 Teens: ‘They Both Gave So Much’

“While I do

… Read More

What to know about your next visit to the dentist

By Shelton Muro 2 weeks ago

Going to the dentist during the pandemic is going to be different, so here’s what to expect.

TAMPA, Fla — Health officials are advising people not to ignore their normal health checkups during the pandemic, and that includes dental appointments. 

Dr. Christopher Bulnes, a practicing Florida Dental Association member in South Tampa, told us what you can expect at your next dental visit.

Dr. Bulnes says you’re probably not going to see waiting rooms where people are gathering, instead, you might be asked to call, or text a number to say you’ve arrived for your appointment. The state dental association also says waiting rooms won’t have magazines or other communal items.

Patients may be screened for signs and symptoms of the coronavirus before their appointment, and again when they get to the office. Once there, you might also be asked to wash or sanitize your hands. Dental staff may be

… Read More

Hoverboard dentist is jailed for 12 years for Medicaid fraud

By Shelton Muro 2 weeks ago

An Alaska dentist who pulled out a patient’s tooth while riding a hoverboard has been jailed for 12 years for reckless endangerment and a $1.9million Medicaid fraud. 

Seth Lookhart joked about the hoverboard stunt in a video he sent to friends, and messages showed him bragging that nobody would ever uncover his crimes. 

But he was was convicted in January of a ‘lucrative’ fraud scheme in which he pressured his patients to undergo unnecessary sedations so that he could send Medicaid the bill. 

‘In reviewing all this over and over again, I have this visceral response – you darn near killed some people,’ Alaska judge Michael Wolverton told him on Monday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. 

Dentist Seth Lookhart was filmed removing a patient’s tooth while riding a hoverboard at Clear Creek Dental, in Anchorage, Alaska in July 2016 

In the hoverboard video, Lookhart balanced on the board while

… Read More

How to safely go to the dentist during the pandemic

By Shelton Muro 2 weeks ago

My tongue first detected the problem when it caught a sharp edge on my teeth: A hefty hunk of my back right molar was missing. I’m not sure how it happened, but it meant that after months of avoiding any sort of physical closeness with other people, I needed to brave the dentist’s chair.

With the pandemic raging across the United States, the office I entered in Alexandria, Virginia, looked very different from the one I had visited months before. Two cups of pens sat on the receptionist’s desk, one for “clean” writing utensils and the other for those recently used. A plexiglass partition divided me from the rest of the office behind, and everyone—myself included—donned a mask.

Dental work is a uniquely risky environment for spreading SARS-CoV-2, since medical practitioners work face-to-face with open-mouthed patients for extended periods of time. “We, unfortunately, work in a danger zone,” says Mark

… Read More

Dentist jailed after extracting tooth while on hoverboard

By Shelton Muro 3 weeks ago

An American dentist who extracted a tooth from a sedated patient while balancing on a hoverboard has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for crimes including illegal dentistry, fraud and reckless endangerment.

Seth Lookhart, 35, sent phone footage to friends that showed him taking a patient’s tooth out while standing on the two-wheeled hoverboard before riding away as he stripped off his gloves and held his hands up in triumph.

The Alaska State Department of Law said that Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton stressed that the hoverboard incident was not the most serious aspect of the case.

“Lookhart almost killed many patients by performing anesthesia thousands of times without training or consent, on patients outside his scope of training and expertise, while stealing money from Medicaid and embezzling from his bosses,” the state said in a statement.

CNN in a report published Friday quoted Lookhart as saying “looking

… Read More

Dentist who extracted tooth on hoverboard gets 12 years

By Shelton Muro 3 weeks ago

An Alaska dentist who extracted a patient’s tooth while riding on a hoverboard has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars for that stunt and other wheel-y bad crimes.

Seth Lookhart was sentenced Monday in Anchorage Superior Court on dozens of charges that stemmed from actions that ranged from his scooting antics to Medicaid fraud and removing a patient’s teeth without their permission, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

He was convicted back in January on charges of reckless endangerment, illegally practicing dentistry and medical assistance fraud.

“In reviewing all this over and over again, I have this visceral response — you darn near killed some people,” Judge Michael Wolverton said in handing down the sentence.

Seth Lookhart
Seth Lookhart on the hoverboard during the procedure

The court heard testimony at his trial from patient Veronica Wilhelm, who was sedated when he was recorded performing her tooth extraction on a hoverboard in July

… Read More