Philadelphia Health Officials Recommend HIV and Hepatitis Tests for Dental Clinic Patients

Health officials in Philadelphia are recommending certain patients of a dental clinic get tested for hepatitis and HIV due to potential exposures from April 2025 to May 2026, the city's Department of Public Health said in a statement this week. Officials on Wednesday identified the dental clinic in Center City Philadelphia as Smiles at Rittenhouse Square, also called Smiles on the Square, and said it is now closed due to the dentist's temporary suspension.

Garrow, Philadelphia's deputy health commissioner, told ABC News the risk is believed to be low to patients at this time because they have yet to identify any associated cases of hepatitis or HIV linked to this dentist office. "We don't have any known reason to say that the risk will be potentially high, but the fact of the matter is, when you are in a dentist office that's unsanitary, unsafe, the risk always exists," Garrow said.

The sole dentist practicing at this office has since had their license temporarily suspended, state records show. On May 15, 2026, the State Board of Dentistry suspended Dr. Kirti Chopra's professional license in Pennsylvania because her continued practice of dentistry presents a clear and immediate danger to public health and safety, a Pennsylvania Department of State official said in a statement to ABC News.

The alleged sanitary problems in the clinic were discovered during an unannounced site visit, the suspension order, reviewed by ABC News, said. According to the order, the dentist allegedly admitted to investigators that used injectable medication vials were occasionally set aside for reuse on other patients and IV saline bags intended for single use were reused between patients.

Investigators said they identified multiple issues with sterilization and sanitation practices during the site visit that include finding dental instruments that were not properly sterile, handled with potentially contaminated gloves, and packaged in potentially contaminated pouches.

They also reported finding dental handpieces that came into contact with blood and saliva left attached to patient equipment after use that should be sterilized between patients. The dentist's temporary suspension order concluded that these findings place patients at risk for transmission of hepatitis C, hepatitis B, Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as outbreaks of viral, bacterial or fungal infections.

Garrow said exposure at a dentist's office is exceedingly rare but it is possible to get infected if exposed through contaminated dental equipment. Doctors tell ABC News potentially impacted patients may need multiple blood tests, depending on the timing of a potential exposure.

"If it's a recent exposure it would be a minimum of two or three blood draws to establish a baseline and then follow-up testing to determine seroconversion," Dr. George Diaz, a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America, told ABC News.

According to Garrow, the health department is working to finalize a list of patients potentially at risk but due to the timeframe of potential exposure, he estimates that number could be in the hundreds. Garrow also said that there is another dental clinic in the same building with a similar name, Rittenhouse Smiles, that is not under investigation, and they are working on messaging to minimize patient confusion.

m. m. ET, Monday through Friday. "Dr. Chopra is cooperating with the Department of Public Health and the Pennsylvania Department of State," a lawyer representing Chopra and Smiles at Rittenhouse Square said in a statement to 6ABC Philadelphia on Wednesday.

"Dr. Chopra will continue working cooperatively with public-health officials regarding patient notification, testing recommendations, and any required infection-control remediation.