Mass. town unable to shut dirty dental lab

Health inspectors were shocked at the sight of the facilities at Newton Dental Labs in Framingham, MA, where they found hundreds of issues with unsanitary conditions, MetroWest Daily News reported.

But the state and city lack the authority to close it because licenses are not required to operate labs like the one run by technician Donald Canton, the article noted.

Ethan Mascoop, director of the Framingham Board of Health, told MetroWest that the lab is not covered by their jurisdiction or authority.

Canton had been working with patients and filling prescriptions for fitted dentures ordered by dentists in several surrounding towns, the article stated. Once informed, the state Board of Registrations in Dentistry ordered him to stop practicing dentistry without a license, but Canton is still able to manufacture dentures.

Mascoop and state Rep. Chris Walsh (D-Framington) have met to discuss the matter and Walsh plans to file a bill that proposes dental lab regulations in the next session, MetroWest reported. The director of the state Division of Health Professions Licensure voiced her support for establishing standards, the article added, noting that Canton could simply open up shop in a new city if forced to leave.

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