Families in Bakersfield, CA, are set to begin working with Jim Moriarty, a high-profile Colorado attorney, to pursue claims that Edward Dove, DDS, mistreated their children during dental treatment, according to a story in the Bakersfield Californian.
In August, dozens of local parents formed a Facebook group alleging that Dr. Dove mistreated their children, including scratching and hitting them while they were not sufficiently numb and restraining them with Velcro straps.
Chris Cook created the "I Hate Dr. Dove of Bakersfield" page, claiming that Dr. Dove extracted his 5-year-old son's tooth on August 22 without anesthesia. Cook also claims his son vomited, screamed, and urinated on himself while being held down by several assistants during the procedure. Facebook shut down the page in September.
Dr. Dove -- who is well-known in Bakersfield and has three other offices in California -- has denied the allegations.
In addition to the Facebook case, Moriarty is representing hundreds of plaintiffs in a case against Small Smiles dental centers, a chain of clinics that serves low-income families, according to the Californian. He alleges the chain makes money by exploiting Medicaid and doing unnecessary procedures that traumatize children.
Moriarty told the Californian he was drawn to the Facebook case because of its "extraordinary mobilization" effort.
