Star Tribune
Patient sues Eden Prairie dentist over visit that included eight crowns, four root canals and 20 fillings
A patient is suing her Eden Prairie dentist after he performed eight dental crowns, four root canals and 20 fillings in a single visit, according to a newly-filed malpractice lawsuit.
Kathleen Wilson of Minneapolis says she received negligent treatment from Dr. Kevin Molldrem, of Molldrem Family Dentistry, in July 2020, that caused significant injuries. Her civil action, filed ahead of the holiday weekend in Hennepin County District Court, accuses Molldrem of grossly exceeding the safe dosage of anesthesia and falsifying medical records to show he didn’t give Wilson an unsafe dosage.
It includes a scathing expert opinion from a Florida dentist contending that so much dental work in a single visit is “impossible to achieve if … done properly.”
Molldrem did not respond to messages seeking a response to the accusations. He was served a summons in person at his office at 800 Prairie Center Drive on Dec. 20. Wilson’s attorney, Nathaniel Weimer with the Minneapolis personal injury law firm Tewksbury & Kerfeld, also didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Molldrem’s website says he opened the Eden Prairie office in 2004 “to provide the type of dental care for others as I would want for my own family.” A second location later opened in Lakeville.
Wilson was left with significant injuries that required follow-up care from other providers to repair Molldrem’s negligent work, according to the lawsuit. Beyond medical costs, Wilson said she suffered pain, embarrassment, disfigurement and distress. She is asking for at least $50,000 in damages.
Her legal team retained Dr. Avrum Goldstein, of Naples, Fla., to review her medical records from Molldrem and subsequent providers. Goldstein’s Nov. 14 report identified various duty of care breaches.
According to the report:
Wilson consulted with Molldrem on July 7, 2020. She returned a week later for the procedures under IV sedation and local anesthesia.
The expert noted that Molldrem made the right diagnosis, but said he provided poor-quality treatment. Wilson had decay on “virtually every tooth in her mouth, something that is quite rare,” Goldstein wrote. Molldrem’s attempt to restore all Wilson’s teeth in one visit did nothing to address her susceptibility to disease or the potential of losing teeth, he said.
“Katie required a slow, thoughtful, careful and measured response to her disease. Trying to fill every hole in every tooth in her mouth in one visit is not only the antithesis of what was indicated, it is not humanely possible to achieve in an effective or constructive manner,” Goldstein said, adding that it’s “inconceivable” to address 28 teeth in 5 1⁄2 hours.
One challenge of a long appointment is maintaining adequate anesthesia, Goldstein said. The maximum dosage is 490 mg. Molldrem administered 960 mg to Wilson.
Wilson’s records show that Molldrem said he administered eight tubes of dental anesthetic known as carpules. But Goldstein found the first dose alone was eight carpules, and he administered 15 carpules throughout the visit.
Wilson went to a different dental office for an evaluation showing recurrent decay and other damage. For several months in 2022 she was treated at the University of Minnesota Dental School “for repair and replacement of many of her restorations in an attempt to stabilize her mouth.”
Goldstein said that patients have a “finite capacity for dental treatment” and noted the challenges of dental anxiety. If all of Wilson’s teeth end up having to be removed and replaced with implants, Goldstein said “all of the work that was done and all of the expense associated with it will have been for nothing.”
“This not only impacts the economics of her dental needs, it impacts the emotional trauma associated with extensive dental treatment.”
Two people from Minnetonka were killed late Friday afternoon when their GMC Suburban ran a stop sign and was struck by a GMC Yukon headed north on Hwy. 169 west of Palisade, Minn.
According to the State Patrol, Marlo Dean Baldwin, 92, and Elizabeth Jane Baldwin, 61, were dead at the scene. The driver of the Suburban, a 61-year-old Minnetonka man, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The Suburban, pulling a trailer, was headed east on Grove Street/County Rd. 3 at about 5:15 p.m. when it failed to stop at Hwy. 169 and was struck by the northbound Yukon. The Yukon then struck two westbound vehicles stopped at the intersection.
Four people from Zimmerman, Minn., in the Yukon, including the driver, were taken to HCMC with life-threatening injuries, while two passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Three girls in the Yukon ranged in age from 11 to 15.
The drivers of the two vehicles struck by the Yukon were not injured, the State Patrol said. Road conditions were dry at the time of the accident, and alcohol was not believed to have been a factor. All involved in the accident were wearing a seat belt except for Elizabeth Baldwin.
Hill City police and the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.
Amid the cacophony and chaos of the pregame preparation before a recent Minnetonka High School football game, an exceptional group of six girls is gathered together among the school’s deep and talented cheerleading and dance teams.
The cheerleaders, a national championship-winning program of 40 girls, dot the track around the football field. As the clock ticks down to kickoff and their night of choreographed routines begins, the six girls, proudly wearing Minnetonka blue T-shirts emblazoned with “Skippers Nation” and shaking shiny pom-poms, swirl around the track, bristling with excited energy.
Their circumstances are no different from any of the other cheerleaders with one notable exception: The girls on this team have special needs.
They’re members of the Minnetonka Sparklers, a squad of cheerleaders made up solely of girls with special needs.
A football game at Minnetonka High School is an elaborate production. The Skippers’ recent homecoming victory over Shakopee brought an announced crowd of 8,145. And that is just paying attendees; it doesn’t include school staffers, coaches, dance team, marching band, concession workers, media members and others going about their business attached to the game.
The Sparklers program, now in its 12th season, was the brainchild of Marcy Adams, a former Minnetonka cheerleader who initiated the program in her senior year of high school. Adams has been coach of the team since its inception, staying on through her tenure as a cheerleader at the University of Minnesota.
She started the program after experiencing the Unified Sports program at Minnetonka. The unified sports movement at high schools brings together student-athletes with cognitive or physical disabilities and athletes with no disabilities to foster relationships, understanding and compassion through athletics. Many Minnesota schools offer unified sports.
“I grew up in a household that valued students with special needs and valued inclusion,” Adams said. “I saw a need to give to those students. At Minnetonka, we have a strong Unified program, and this was a great opportunity to build relationships and offer mentorship opportunities.”
Elite runners are in a league of their own.
To get a sense of how far ahead elite runners are compared to the rest of us, the Minnesota Star Tribune took a look at how their times compare to the average marathon participant.
The 2022 Twin Cities Marathon men’s winner was Japanese competitor Yuya Yoshida, who ran the marathon in a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds, for an average speed of 11.96 mph. He averaged 5 minutes and 2 seconds per mile.
That’s more than twice the speed of the average competitor across both the men’s and women’s categories, of 5.89 mph, according to race results site Mtec. The average participant finished in 4 hours, 26 minutes and 56 seconds. That comes out to an average time of 10 minutes and 11 seconds per mile.
And taking it to the most extreme, the fastest-ever marathon runner, Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya, finished the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 35 seconds, for an average pace of about 13 mph. Kiptum averaged 4 minutes and 36 seconds per mile.
Here is a graphic showing these differences in average marathon speed.
