Children's Dental Center Again Ordered To Shut Down After Bacteria Found

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — Orange County's public health officer ordered another shutdown Friday of the Children's Dental Group of Anaheim, where dozens of children were affected by a bacterial outbreak.

Eric Handler issued the order after tests still showed signs of bacteria office's water system, even though it was recently replaced.

"We have shut them down through a health officer order so we can do a thorough assessment as to why this has occurred," Handler said.

On Sept. 15, Handler ordered the dental office to stop doing pulpotomy procedures and replace its internal water processing system. When that job was completed, the ban was lifted Nov. 7.

A lawsuit in November accused the dental clinic of fraud and medical malpractice.

Test results Thursday, however, showed there was mycobacterium in the office's internal water system, Handler said.

RELATED LINK: Children's Dental Group Offers Statement About Recent Link To Infections

As of Tuesday, county health officials said they had logged 58 cases involving the clinic, with 20 confirmed to be infected and the rest probably infected. All 58 have been hospitalized at least once at some point.

They range in age from 2 to 10 and underwent procedures from March through Aug. 11.

Since the ban was lifted Nov. 7, the clinic had been "in operation and doing pulpotomies," Handler said, with no new reports of infections.

Handler said his office will monitor children treated at the office since Nov. 7 to ensure their health.

Officials are asking any clients of Medi-Cal who believe the dentists did excessive or unnecessary treatments to file a complaint with the Dental Board and with the Medi-Cal Fraud Unit.

To report Medi-Cal fraud, click here or call their hotline: (800) 722-0432. You can also access their online complaint form.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)