State Yanks License For Red Bank/Shrewsbury-Based Dentist

RED BANK, NJ — An oral surgeon who practiced all over New Jersey, but also had offices right here in Red Bank, Shrewsbury and Eatontown, had his license yanked for practicing what the state Attorney General called “hit and run dentistry" — which left his patients injured, in debt or with sinus infections.

Dr. Andrew Maron, 58, also preyed on elderly patients, said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, often pressuring them into having teeth pulled or replaced, or into having oral surgery they did not need.

In several cases, tooth implants placed by Maron migrated into his patients' sinuses, or they fell out and were swallowed.

At the height of his career, Maron owned a string of dental practices in Monmouth, Passaic, Hudson and Union counties. Locally, he was the sole owner of CompCare 2000/Monmouth Dental Group in Eatontown and Gentle Dental of Red Bank (Perfect Smile). He also worked at The Apprehensive Patient in both Eatontown and Shrewsbury.

He also had a team of dentists who worked under him at the various locations.

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, which falls under the office of the Attorney General, has been investigating Maron since 2015. After a several-year investigation, his license was first suspended, and then revoked for good this week.

According to the investigation, Maron committed multiple acts of negligence and professional misconduct in his treatment of 17 patients between 2010 and 2015.

The state alleged he:

• Pulled natural teeth and replaced them with dental implants with little or no regard to the restorability of the natural tooth;
• Placed numerous implants that failed, some dangerously so by migrating into the sinus, or by patients swallowing them;
• Performed, planned and undertook treatment without regard to a patient’s ability to pay for the treatment;
• Discussed treatment with patients who were already in the chair receiving anesthesia;
• Pressured elderly patients into having implants placed without pre-operative diagnosis, review, or informed consent;
• Pressured Medicaid patients into taking CareCredit loans which exceeded their ability to repay;
• Ignored or failed to look at patients’ medical histories;
• Submitted inaccurate and inflated billing for treatment

He has now been prohibited from practicing dental medicine in New Jersey.

Many of Maron's patients were low-income, elderly or disabled, said the AG. Maron is accused of talking them into having additional dental work while they were still woozy from anesthesia.

One of his patients, a 64-year-old man, took out loans to have Maron extract ten teeth and place six implants. Except the man's patient records did not show any signs of having a basic CT scan done, or that there was a need for such extensive dental work. Additionally, the man was not advised that one of his implants had come loose and was floating in his sinuses, the AG said.

Another patient, a 93-year-old woman, took out a $31,000 loan to pay for four dental implants Maron said she needed.

But it was not just the elderly: A 26-year-old woman who was treated by Maron told state investigators she was not properly anesthetized and that Maron’s eight-year-old son was present during her oral surgery, distracting him. The boy was also handling instruments, she said.

What's more, she said she had to see another surgeon that same day because of continued bleeding and the feeling that air was passing between the extraction site and her sinus cavity.

Another patient, a 29-year-old woman, had Maron place an implant while she was under sedation. She testified that she awoke from the procedure sitting alone in the office waiting room. In the days following the procedure, her face and throat swelled. When she spoke to Maron, he called her a hypochondriac, but prescribed an antibiotic, steroids and a pain killer. Three weeks later, when still in pain, she returned to Maron who "numbed" her and used "pliers." When she was seen by another oral surgeon, she learned that the implants had been removed. Maron had not told her what he had done, she said.

In yet another case, Maron gave local anesthesia with epinephrine and prescribed Vicodin, an opiate, to a 25-year-old pregnant woman, even after she told him her OB wanted her to be only given Tylenol as a painkiller and no other drugs.

In her decision rendered in May 2019, Administrative Law Judge Susan M. Scarola concluded that Maron’s practice was “so overextended it was almost impossible for him to provide quality care.”

“His repeated acts of negligence and gross negligence, his professional misconduct, his dishonesty and deception, and his lack of providing appropriate and determined care for his patients warrant the severest possible sanction, namely, revocation of his license,” the judge wrote.

Fourteen malpractice suits have been filed against Maron in New Jersey and New York since 2014, the New York Post reported. His license was suspended during the four-year investigation period, but Maron kept practicing in New York state.

He has also been ordered to pay civil penalties totaling $138,500; restitution totaling $75,041.22 to 15 patients; and aggregate costs and attorneys' fees of $303,856.22. The Board filed its written decision on Nov. 1, 2019.

Where he worked:

Maron was the sole owner or partner in CompCare 2000/Monmouth Dental Group in Eatontown, CompCare 2000/The Apprehensive Patient in Secaucus, Gentle Dental of Red Bank (Perfect Smile), and Dowling Oral & Maxillofacial in Woodland Park.He worked at The Apprehensive Patient in Eatontown, Shrewsbury, Union, and Clifton; Poller Dental Group in Clifton; American Dental Center in West Long Branch; Amalgamated Dental Center in Union; and Bordia Dental Associates in Freehold.

CompCare 2000 went out of business in 2016; Gentle Dental was sold; and his interest in The Apprehensive Patient in Eatontown and Union never matured.

At one point, he owned Brooklyn Fourth Avenue Dental with a partner, Christopher Park; Shore Points Oral Surgery; Monmouth Dental Group; and American Dental, and was a per-diem dentist in the Bronx until 2004 or 2005.

Maron has now divested himself of all the practices he owned, and the rest were sold or dissolved.