A dentist in Kentucky who was convicted for unlawfully prescribing morphine that caused the death of his 24-year-old dental patient was sentenced, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs.
Dr. Jay Sadrinia, 61, who owned and operated dental clinics in Crescent Spring, KY, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In June 2023, a jury convicted Sadrinia of one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances resulting in death and one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances, according to a department press release dated May 10.
Despite Sadrinia being explicitly told that his prescribing of controlled substances was dangerous and that it put patients' lives at risk, Sadrinia prescribed opioids to his patients for routine dental procedures. Sadrinia charged the 24-year-old $37,000 for dental procedures and prescribed quantities of narcotics, including morphine, that were medically unnecessary. Several days later, the patient overdosed on the morphine and died, according to the release.
In April 2022, the Kentucky Board of Dentistry began investigating Sadrinia to determine his competency to practice dentistry after receiving information from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. On April 26, 2022, Sadrinia was informed that his license to practice dentistry was immediately and temporarily suspended.
