Three people who sought testing after being warned about possible infection exposure from a Denver-area dentist have tested positive, state health officials announced Wednesday morning.
The three were between 1999 and 2011 and had received notifications because the dentist reused sedation syringes for days at a time, the state said.
The patients tested positive for HIV, hepatitis C or hepatitis B, but, in order to protect their privacy, the state would not say which. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has urged more than 8,000 oral-surgery patients of Stein’s to seek testing.
The results do not mean the patients got their infections at Stein’s Cherry Creek or Highlands Ranch practices, the state said. In thousands of patients, some will have the infections and not know it, and may have contracted it through drug use, sexual activity or other means.
Colorado said it will not conduct its own testing of the patients to match their genetic material or find other links because there is no longer a public health threat from Stein. He previously agreed with the dental examining board to suspend his practice.
“The CDC and department confirmed it would be difficult, if not impossible, to conclude definitively whether the dental practice was the actual source of transmission for any of these positive test results,” a state release said.
Further testing would have to be sought by private lawyers in suits against Stein or by criminal authorities who are investigating the dentist for potential prescription-drug fraud, said Denver attorney Hollynd Hoskins.
Denver police said they are continuing an “active and open” probe into allegations of prescription misuse by Stein. Police and the district attorney were given information by the state attorney general, which assists the dental board on professional misconduct cases.
The state also said it is not seeking testing for Stein himself.
“We did not identify a reason to order testing of Dr. Stein as a result of our investigation,” said state health spokesman Mark Salley.
In the case of Rose Medical Center surgical assistant Kristen Parker, genetic testing matched Parker’s hepatitis C to that of patients infected during surgeries.
State or federal authorities should do further testing of Stein and the three patients, Hoskins said.
“As a public health issue, his patients have an absolute right to know if Dr. Stein himself was infected with any of these diseases,” said Hoskins, who represents some of Stein’s patients.
Drawing links between patients and Stein will be further complicated by a lack of records. State officials said they did not have complete patient records, over years of bookkeeping and a transfer of his practice.
A state health department investigation focusing on Stein confirmed the use of unsafe injection practices.
The health department urged patients “to get tested — and, if positive, to check with their health care provider for care.”
“(The health department) will not know the number of people who get tested, only the number of positive tests that are reported,” the state said.
