JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Documents released Tuesday in the case of Jacksonville pediatric dentist Howard Schneider paint a picture of a disorganized, deceptive, even terrifying dental practice.
The documents obtained exclusively by First Coast News are part of the state’s fraud case against Schneider for alleged unauthorized Medicaid claims.
State investigators contend Schneider defrauded taxpayers by seeking reimbursement in treating low income patients. Specifically, they say he performed procedures without getting parental permission in advance, and providing substandard treatment. They also found his recordkeeping “very poor.”
But the specifics of the allegations, released as part of the state’s discovery exhibit, read like the script for a horror movie:
- “No justification” for dental procedures
- “No correlation” between the treatment proposed and treatment actually performed
- Staff that refused to answer questions, even as procedures stretched hours beyond what was expected
- “Inadequate sedation” for children undergoing surgery. (“The type and amount of sedation ... was very mild,” one affidavit says, “and would not be strong enough for a child three years or older.”)
In one case, according to the records, a mother found her daughter hyperventilating and covered in blood and scratches. Dr. Schneider explained the child fell, but as the parents left, the child said “Mommy they’re lying to you. That man doctor threw me.” The child went on to describe the dental assistant as laughing as Schneider “choked me and pulled my teeth.”
The stories echo those that have emerged from parents across the First Coast since April, when protests fueled by social media overtook and eventually closed Schneider’s dental practice.
Schneider was the subject of several malpractice lawsuits, including one case involving 104 plaintiffs. As FCN reported last month, that case has been “amicably settled’ according to the plaintiff’s attorney.
Calls to Schneider’s attorney were not immediately returned.
