Mass. dentist accused of using paper clips in patients’ root canals pleads not guilty

Mass. dentist accused of fraud pleads not guilty

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A former Massachusetts dentist accused of Medicaid fraud for using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in patients’ root canals has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Prosecutors say 51-year-old Michael Clair, who now lives in Maryland, was ordered Thursday by a judge in New Bedford to have no contact with the victims. Clair was released on personal recognizance.

He is charged with defrauding Medicaid of $130,000, assault and battery, larceny, and illegally prescribing drugs.

Prosecutors say Clair was suspended by Medicaid in 2002 but continued to file claims from August 2003 to June 2005 by using the names of other dentists in his practice.

Clair’s court-appointed lawyer, John Dingee (dawn-JHAY’), said he could not comment because he did not yet know all the details of the case.