Letter to advise tests for 200 in state

About 200 Arkansans are among 3,000 people who will be getting letters advising them to be tested for several diseases because they received dental care at a Memphis clinic that has been closed because of unsanitary conditions, a spokesman for the Shelby County Health Department in Tennessee said Tuesday.

According to an order by the Tennessee Board of Dentistry, investigators with that state's Department of Health visited the SPT Dental Clinic in Memphis on May 26 in response to a patient's complaint and found "an extremely dirty and cracked floor," a container "overflowing with dirty needles," and a sink "crusted over with grime and dirt and non-identifiable substances in the sink drain," among other conditions.

Lapses in infection control at the clinic could put patients at risk for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV, according to an Arkansas Department of Health news release.

Patients who received services at the clinic in 2013 or later should be tested for the viruses, according to the release.

No infections had been linked to the dental clinic as of Tuesday, Elizabeth Hart, a spokesman for the county health department in Memphis, said.

Free testing is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Cawthorn Public Health Clinic at 1000 Haynes St. in Memphis.

Patients can make an appointment for the testing by calling (901) 222-9299, Hart said.

Arkansans can also receive free testing at an Arkansas Department of Health clinic, Meg Mirivel, a spokesmanfor the Arkansas department, said.

Tennessee health officials ordered the dental clinic's closure on July 1, and the dentistry board suspended the license of clinic operator Dr. Alfred Brown on July 5.

Brown is set for a hearing before the board on Oct. 14.

Metro on 07/27/2016

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