Here are five dental legal battles Becker's has reported on since March 30:
1. Massachusetts dentist Scott Cale, DDS, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and one count of healthcare fraud.
2. Five employees of a Hialeah, Fla.-based DSO were arrested on charges of using a formerly employed dentist's credentials to defraud insurance companies out of more than $1.3 million.
3. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee and the U.S. Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, a retainer-like device that claims it can expand the jaw without surgery.
4. Alex Gutierrez, DDS, a dentist in Tampa, Fla., who patients believed had gone missing was arrested on probation violation.
5. Former oral surgeon Andrew Hartwig was sentenced to 24 months in prison after tampering with fentanyl while working at a dental practice in Iowa City, Iowa.