SAN DIEGO - A La Jolla dentist said she has no link to a Pennsylvania practice where patients were told to get tested for HIV and Hepatitis B and C after possible exposure during dental procedures.
Dr. Jana Osmolinski and her husband, Dr. Eric Osmolinski, had their dental licenses in Pennsylvania suspended after the state's Department of Health said they were two of 3 doctors who practiced at the Center for Family and Specialty Dentistry in Reading that failed to follow proper procedures for cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing dental services.
"This is the last thing you want to think about, is there something that's going to be with me for the rest of my life because I went to a dental practice," said one patient of the Pennsylvania practice.
"I don't understand how it could be; it's purely by association because of husband and wife, but this is a completely different entity and completely different facility," Dr. Jana Osmolinski said, referring to her practice.
Speaking outside of La Jolla Family Dentistry, she told 10News she had no idea how her name was connected to the Pennsylvania report.
Osmolinski said the La Jolla Family Dentistry practice belongs to her, with her husband only an employee at the location. She explained that she has no connection to the office in Pennsylvania, and she was confident her patients understand how she conducts her practice.
"I'm very particular about how I like things, and anything less than perfect I would not settle down for," Osmolinski said.
Some longtime patients came to Osmolinski's defense, including Debbi Gianni, who told 10News, "I don't buy it all. I love this dentist right here; I bring my children here …"
Osmolinski refused to answer whether she ever practiced in Pennsylvania, directing those questions to her husband. Dr. Eric Osmolinski was not at the La Jolla office on Wednesday, however.
The Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry ordered the Osmolinskis to stop all patient care at the Center for Family and Specialty Dentistry and advised all patients between October 2015 to December 2016 to get tested.
Osmolinski, who has been practicing since 2002, told 10News that no one knows more about proper sterilization and cleaning than her.
She refused to comment on whether or not the East Coast dental office belonged to her husband but said her patients in La Jolla have nothing to worry about.
"They know me personally, they know how I work, they know my staff, they know my facility and something like this caught them by surprise as did me," she said.
No action has been taken against either doctor in California.
