Possible HIV, hepatitis exposure at Philadelphia dental clinic due to unsafe practices: PDPH

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]The investigation is ongoing, but Dr. Kureishy Choppra's license to practice dentistry has already been suspended temporarily and her practice, Smiles at Rittenhouse Square, has been shut down.

[00:00:11]And it all started after the state health department contacted the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. They received a complaint about this dentist and conducted an investigation.

[00:00:22]Our team went out with them to conduct an on-site visit to document the practices at the dentist's office. The ensuing inspection order goes into full detail about the findings. Those orders state that Dr. Choppra occasionally set aside used single-use anesthetic vials for reuse and that she does not replace saline bags used for implant procedures until the bags are empty, just to name two. It ends up being a lot of uh possibility of transfer of bodily fluids between patients. Health officials say even though the risk of exposure is low, Dr. Choppra's patients are being encouraged to test for exposure to hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV. An attorney representing the practice sent Action News a statement reading in part, quote, Dr. Choppra will continue working cooperatively with public health officials regarding patient notification, testing recommendations, and any required infection control remediation. We spoke with people who live in this part of Center City who say this is not something you'd expect when going to the dentist. I am a little surprised cuz you would trust a medical professional. Rule of thumb, I would assume that any dentist I go to uses the proper sanitation techniques, so that's pretty, you know, absurd.