24735: Hermantin (News) Raid on unlicensed dental office sparks calls for patient test

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Raid on unlicensed dental office sparks calls for patient tests
By Jane Daugherty
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 07, 2005

WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County health officials issued an emergency 
plea Wednesday for people who were treated by an unlicensed dentist in 
"unsanitary, deplorable" conditions in Lake Park and Belle Glade to get 
tested for AIDS, HIV and hepatitis.

Kenol Pryam, 60, was arrested on six felony charges Tuesday outside his 
residence at 311 Flagler Drive in Lake Park, where he allegedly treated 
hundreds of patients in recent years, including many recent immigrants 
without dental insurance.


Pryam, a native of Haiti who is licensed in Florida as a nursing assistant, 
has refused to submit to blood tests for communicable diseases, prompting 
the warning from Dr. Jean Malecki, director of the Palm Beach County Health 
Department. Pryam did not return calls for comment.

Malecki said she fears Pryam's dental patients may have been exposed to 
diseases and infections because of his use of unsterilized instruments, some 
reportedly "sanitized" in a toaster oven.

"Conditions were truly deplorable" in Pryam's makeshift dental practice, 
said Palm Beach County sheriff's Detective Jim Brown, who raided the Lake 
Park home with an undercover agent from the Florida Department of Health and 
two dentists from Malecki's staff.

"This guy had over 300 vials of anesthetic drugs, plus 20 empty vials and 20 
or more partially used vials of drugs, all without a license to buy or 
dispense these drugs," said Brown, a licensed dental technician. "Some of 
the drugs were imported illegally from South America including Lidocaina."

Brown said no conventional instrument-sterilizing equipment or rubber gloves 
were found.

"There were also syringes, dental tools and equipment used in oral surgery, 
portable high-speed drills and a professional dental chair of '70s vintage," 
Brown said, all found in a laundry room and bedroom.

Brown said a search warrant was being sought for another dental office Pryam 
acknowledged operating in downtown Belle Glade.

The felony charges include treating patients as a dentist without a license; 
operating a dental lab without a license; using prescription drugs without a 
license; using unlicensed controlled drugs obtained in foreign markets; 
possessing prescription drugs with intent to dispense; and the use of dental 
equipment by unlicensed personnel.

Brown said Pryam claimed to have received some dental training in Mexico.

Dr. Phil Bilger, head of the county health department's division of 
dentistry, said he also is concerned about a "1950s or '60s-era X-ray 
machine" he saw.

Bilger said it was unlikely the machine had been properly maintained and 
periodically recalibrated, as required by state law. Periodic inspections 
also are required in Florida to avoid the risk of overexposure to X-rays.

Brown said there is also risk of mercury contamination at the Lake Park 
home, where silver and mercury apparently were used to manufacture dental 
fillings.

Investigators found Pryam's business cards listing the services of "Dr. 
Kenol Pyram" in Creole and English offering dental surgery, orthodontics, 
laser dentistry and dental implants.

"We consider these multiple public health risks," Malecki said. "We're 
asking people, particularly those in the Haitian and Guatemalan communities 
who may have been treated by this man, to go to their private doctor or come 
to the health department for testing."

This is the third illegal dental operation to be raided in Palm Beach County 
in recent years, she said.

"This guy was not just cleaning teeth, he was apparently doing invasive 
dental procedures including extractions that risk exposing people to harmful 
microbes," Malecki said. "We want anyone who had contact with him to call 
the health department at (561) 840-4500. If they can't afford to get tested 
privately, we'll get them the necessary medical tests."

Brown said investigators have not determined how much Pryam made from his 
unlicensed operation, but one man who complained about Pryam said he was 
charged $75 to have his teeth cleaned.

Because Pryam told detectives he has a brother in Haiti and relatives in 
Canada and has refused to cooperate in the investigation, Malecki said the 
health department is asking that his $3,000 bond be revoked and that he be 
held for trial.

Dental care for children from low-income families and for adults with dental 
emergencies is available on a limited basis at health department clinics in 
West Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Delray Beach, Lantana and, for HIV/AIDS 
patients only, Riviera Beach.