Health
Patients Urged to Get Tested for HIV After ‘Unsanitary Practices’ Found at Philly Dental Office
Philadelphia health officials are warning patients of a local dental office that they may have been exposed to serious bloodborne viruses after investigators uncovered alarming concerns regarding sanitation at the practice.
According to a report from WHYY published on Wednesday, May 20, patients who visited Smiles at Rittenhouse Square between April 2025 and May 2026 have been urged by public health officials to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV after an investigation discovered “unsanitary practices.”
The Pennsylvania Department of State temporarily suspended the license of dentist Dr. Kitri Chopra after they saw the conditions at the Philadelphia clinic.
The outlet reported that investigators found multiple violations involving sterilization and medication handling procedures. Chopra was reportedly reusing single use saline bags during dental implant procedures and they may have been handled improperly.
“The risks of reuse upon subsequent patients include, but are not limited to, transmission of hepatitis C, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus, as well as other pathogen transmissions,” Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs’ attorneys wrote.
While officials stressed that the overall risk to patients is believed to be “low,” they’re still encouraging former patients to undergo testing out of an abundance of caution. No infections have been linked to the office so far.
The City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health will be sending letters directly to impacted patients that include recommendations for testing and follow-up care.
State regulators determined that Chopra posed “an immediate and clear danger to public health or safety” and moved to have her dental license suspended by the Board of Dentistry.
