Popular Wis. Dentist Loses License Following Complaints
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Parents in the Hudson area are scrambling to find new dental care for their children.
A popular dentist closed his doors permanently after clients repeatedly complained to the state.
Dr. Andy Mancini surrendered his license to practice in Wisconsin in late April.
Complaints say he pulled six teeth from one child without asking a parent, and gave another child 12 fillings when only one was needed.
His dental practice, Le Petite Dentistry, first opened in 2011. The cheerful sign still hangs inside of a Hudson shopping center.
Rebecca Viebrock was drawn in by the bright aquatic theme and fun spirit, and the fact that it was the only local practice that accepted the single mom's state insurance plan.
"I figured this place looks good, and he's got, like, really good college education and things like that and all his degrees, so I thought it was a good place to go," Viebrock said.
But she quickly realized they were going too often.
"You go in for an initial cleaning and all of the sudden it's like I had six or seven appointment cards just for my son lined up week after week," she said. "It'd be cavities, sealants, more tooth extractions."
She says Dr. Mancini pulled seven to eight of her kids' teeth, sometimes doing so without asking.
"My son told me after the fact, he did say he was crying in the back, but he did mention to me that he felt like his gums were getting ripped out."
She says one day she asked Dr. Mancini to show her X-rays and show her why her children needed so much dental work.
"That's when Mancini got upset and he got real agitated and he made the comment, like, 'We're the doctors, you're not,' is eventually what the conversation boiled down to," she said.
We also had some questions, and went to Dr. Mancini's Woodbury home. He, nor his attorney, responded.
Complaints to the state go back several years, saying Dr. Mancini did unnecessary work, filed claims for work never done and treated others disrespectfully.
He gave up his license, but denied allegations, leaving some with frustration.
"I think [my kids] are scared now because there's all this stuff in their mouth, they don't know where we're going to go, they don't obviously trust the whole dental clinic now," Viebrock said.
She went public last week on Facebook to ask if there were other families involved. She says she has received more than 100 responses.
The state of Wisconsin has filed a suit against Mancini, claiming he committed insurance fraud through Medicaid.
