Health department urges patients to get tested after closing 3 Philly dental practices

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29 - The Philadelphia Department of Public Health says they have closed three dental practices for improper reprocessing and sterilization of dental equipment and lapses in injection safety practices.

According to the health department, they have closed three Trieu Family Dental Clinics:

Officials urge patients of these locations to contact their regular healthcare providers to be tested for hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus and HIV.

Some of the chemicals used for disinfection were out of date," said Susan Coffin of the Philadelphia Division of Disease Control

"Equipment left out to dry, making it very difficult to remove all of the organic materials that might be on them."

The Health Department believes the risk of infection is low and is not aware of any infections as a result of these alleged unsafe practices.

The Health Department has notified all patients who received dental care at any of the three Trieu Family Dental Clinics between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 7, 2018, by letter recommending that they see their regular healthcare provider for testing.

The Health Department has set up a hotline for any patients who may have questions about the clinics, or about their potential exposure. They are encouraged to call (215) 218-2999 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Health officials have setup clinics for patients to go to get testing if they are unable to get to their primary care physician. The clincs locations can be found be below:

City health center 5 (Philly residents only)
1900 N 20th street
Philadelphia, PA 19121

City health center 9 (Philly residents only)
131 E Chelten Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19144

City health center 10 (Philly residents only)
2230 Cottman Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19149

Strawberry mansion health center (Philly residents only)
2840 West Dauphin Street
Philadelphia, PA 19132

Fairmount Primary Care Center (FPCC)
1412 Fairmount Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19130

Fairmount Primary Care Center at Girard Medical Center (FPCC-GMC)
801 West Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19122

Maria de los Santos Health Center (MdlS)
401 West Allegheny Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19133

Norristown Regional Health Center (NRHC)
1401 DeKalb Street
Norristown, PA 19401