Report: State Health Department Rules Enfield Dentist Did Not Successfully Complete Retraining

The State Department of Public Health reportedly has said an Enfield dentist hasn’t successfully completed a retraining program.

According to a letter obtained by WFSB, the health department said they didn’t believe Dr. Rashmi Patel successfully completed a five-day retraining program earlier this year at Louisiana State University’s School of Dentistry.

The state ordered the retraining in the aftermath of a state investigation into one patient’s death and the hospitalization of another following treatment by the Enfield dentist who lives in Suffield.

The state had suspended Patel’s dental license last December. In February, Patel was arrested on a negligent homicide charge in connection with the Feb. 17, 2014 death of Judith Gan, 64, of Ellington, who died after having 20 teeth removed during a procedure in Patel’s Enfield office.

Patel has pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence and remains free on $25,000 bond, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch website. He’s due back in state Superior Court in Hartford on July 9, according to the Judicial Branch.

The WFSB story can be found here.