A former dentist recently pleaded guilty to criminal charges for using paper clips in root canals instead of the stainless steel posts that are commonly used in the procedures. It is not clear whether any of the dentist's former patients will file surgical malpractice lawsuits against him for the infections and other ailments they suffered as a result of his use of paper clips in their dental work.

According to court documents, the dentist pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud as well as several other charges including assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription medication and witness intimidation. The dentist was suspended by Medicaid in 2002, but he reportedly continued to file for Medicaid reimbursements by using the names of the other dentists in his clinic. He pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid of $130,000.

After several of the dentist's patients reported that they had contracted infections following their root canal procedures, the state dental board suspended his license to practice dentistry. He is not currently allowed to practice dentistry in North Carolina or in any other state in the U.S.

According to a professor of endodontics, there are "very limited circumstances" under which a paper clip could or should be used during a dental procedure. Further, he said, a paper clip should never be left in a patient's mouth permanently. "Paper clips do not satisfy the requirement for [stainless steel] posts," he said, "not only because they aren't made of stainless steel but because their shape and consistency will not allow them to be functionally acceptable to use."

Source: The Huffington Post, "Michael Clair, Former Dentist, Accused Of Paper Clip Use In Root Canals," Jan. 24, 2012