A Gentle Dental lawsuit is not one case but several, brought against different offices that share the name. The most significant include a $675,000 Illinois malpractice settlement after a dentist dropped a barbed root canal file down a patient’s throat, a pending New York suit alleging roughly $500,000 in misappropriated management fees, and a decade-long disciplinary record against an Iowa dentist that ended with him surrendering his license in 2025. Because “Gentle Dental” is a brand used by unrelated practices around the country, each case involves different owners and different legal theories.
The Illinois Malpractice Settlement
On October 1, 2014, Janusz Pawlowicz went to a Gentle Dental Services office in Des Plaines, Illinois, for a root canal. During the procedure, his dentist, Dr. Beata Kozar-Warchalowska, dropped a two-inch barbed broach — a sharp metal file used to clean root canals — down his throat. The lawsuit later alleged she had not used a dental dam, the rubber sheet that is standard practice for preventing exactly this kind of accident, and that she told the patient she did not know what had happened to the instrument.1The Washington Post. A Dentist Lost a Barbed Tool During a Root Canal. It Was Later Found in Her Patient’s Stomach
Days later, Pawlowicz developed severe abdominal pain. On October 10, 2014, an X-ray at Resurrection Medical Center found the broach lodged in his stomach. The tool had perforated his stomach and small bowel. Treatment required an endoscopy, a laparoscopy, and a surgical resection of part of his small intestine. He also developed an ileus, a condition in which the bowel stops functioning. He was not discharged from Loyola Medical Center until November 20, 2014, nearly seven weeks after the root canal.2VerdictSearch. Instrument Drop in Throat Violated Care Standard, Plaintiffs
Pawlowicz and his wife, Barbara, sued Dr. Kozar-Warchalowska and Gentle Dental Services, Ltd. in Cook County, alleging medical malpractice and professional negligence. Gentle Dental was named on a theory of vicarious liability, meaning the company was said to be responsible for the dentist’s conduct because she was working at its office. The case settled on August 3, 2016, for $675,000, paid by the defendants’ insurer before trial.2VerdictSearch. Instrument Drop in Throat Violated Care Standard, Plaintiffs3CBS News Chicago. Dentist Drops Device Down Patient’s Throat
When news outlets reported on the settlement, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s database showed Dr. Kozar-Warchalowska’s license remained active with no publicly reported discipline stemming from the incident.4Chicago Tribune. Des Plaines Dentist Loses Barbed Tool During Root Canal; It Is Later Found in Patient’s Stomach
The New York Management-Fees Suit
A separate and more recent case involves a Gentle Dental practice in New City, New York, founded in 2017 by Dr. Sridhar Saidapet. On February 2, 2025, two related plaintiffs sued Gentle Dental of New City in Westchester Supreme Court: Collaborative Management Systems, a Fishkill-based dental management firm founded by Dr. Joseph Fertucci, and I Dental P.C., a practice also formed by Fertucci.5Westfair Online. Rockland Dental Practice Accused of Brushing Away Management Fees
The complaint alleges breach of contract and unjust enrichment, and claims Gentle Dental misappropriated roughly $500,000 in management fees. Collaborative Management had been providing administrative support to the practice since 2017 in exchange for a fee equal to 12.5 percent of employee compensation. According to the filing, Gentle Dental stopped paying that fee in October 2024 and then took steps to avoid it, including paying employees off the books, removing staff from payroll records, and concealing patient treatments from the management company.6DrBicuspid. Dental Practice Accused of Swiping $500K, Sued
The management firm estimates Gentle Dental sidestepped at least $281,702 in fees during 2024, with another $172,500 owed through the remainder of the contract. I Dental P.C. separately alleges that Gentle Dental collected payments directly from patients and insurers that were contractually owed to I Dental for services its dentists had provided. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages, and the case remains pending.5Westfair Online. Rockland Dental Practice Accused of Brushing Away Management Fees
The Iowa Disciplinary Case Against Dr. Masih Safabakhsh
Dr. Masih Safabakhsh operated a Gentle Dental practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His troubles with the Iowa Dental Board spanned more than a decade and produced three separate rounds of formal charges.
The first came in December 2011. The board accused him of gross malpractice for using cutting or grinding devices to “excessively” separate teeth for orthodontic bands, allegedly causing severe and irreversible damage to patients. In January 2012 he consented to a permanent restriction barring him from that procedure and paid a $7,500 fine.7Iowa Capital Dispatch. For the Third Time, Iowa Dentist Is Charged With Professional Incompetence
Months later, in July 2012, his license was suspended on an emergency basis after a patient suffered a medical emergency. The board alleged he had administered 16 cartridges of local anesthetic, roughly three times the manufacturer’s maximum dose according to a consulting expert. Additional allegations that round included substandard root canals and restorations, billing for services that were never performed or documented, and directing staff to delay calling an ambulance during the patient’s crisis. He was fined $10,000, completed remedial training, and had his license reinstated under probation in August 2014.8News From the States. Iowa Dentists Accused of Incompetence, Sexual Misconduct, Fraud9Corridor Business Journal. Cedar Rapids Dentist Surrenders License After Fraud, Incompetence Allegations
The board terminated his probation and restored his license without restrictions in April 2022. A new investigation was already underway that same year. In 2025, the board filed a third round of charges. It alleged he had performed root canals and placed crowns on teeth that did not need treatment while ignoring teeth that did, and that he routinely prescribed antibiotics without medical justification. Rather than face a hearing, Dr. Safabakhsh surrendered his dental license.9Corridor Business Journal. Cedar Rapids Dentist Surrenders License After Fraud, Incompetence Allegations
Who Actually Owns Gentle Dental Offices
Most offices carrying the Gentle Dental name operate under InterDent, a dental support organization incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and headquartered in Inglewood, California. InterDent does not itself practice dentistry. It provides administrative, business, and management services to affiliated dental practices, each of which is a separate professional corporation owned by a licensed dentist and tied to InterDent through a long-term exclusive management agreement.10U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. InterDent Inc. Form 10-K, Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2005
Private equity firm H.I.G. Capital invested in InterDent in 2012, and its records list that investment as “realized,” indicating it has since exited.11H.I.G. Capital. InterDent InterDent’s website describes a network of more than 175 supported offices operating under the Gentle Dental, Capitol Dental Care, and Blue Oak Dental brands.12InterDent. InterDent Home Page
Not every practice using the Gentle Dental name belongs to that network. The New York practice in the management-fees suit appears to be independently owned and unrelated to InterDent. Patients trying to identify who is behind a particular office should check the ownership of the professional corporation on file with their state dental board rather than rely on the brand name alone.