Health officials on Thursday urged an oral surgeon's patients to undergo hepatitis and H.I.V. testing, saying filthy conditions at his upscale practice posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health." The Oklahoma Board of Dentistry said inspectors went to Dr. W. Scott Harrington's office after a patient with no other known risk factors tested positive for both hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS. Inspectors found multiple problems, including cross-contamination of needles and other instruments and the use of a separate rusty set of instruments for patients who were known to carry infectious diseases, according to a complaint. Dr. Harrington voluntarily closed his offices and faces a hearing April 19.
