French dentist, Lionel Guedj, has been jailed for deliberately mutilating the mouths of his patients.
His actions were part of a money making scheme in which he deliberately harmed healthy patients from low-income neighborhoods of Marseille.
The media outlet Daily star explains, “In total, Guedj is said to have killed off the nerves of 3,900 healthy teeth due to root canal procedures that were deemed pointless between 2006 and 2012.”
All of these root canals were performed across 327 patients. And all of these patients had no medical need to have a root canal. The information from the court suggests that he did these procedures just to fit bridges to make him money.
Lionel would also speed up the procedures to for his own gain, The Guardian reported “Dental procedures that normally took 45 minutes to an hour were performed by Guedj in about 10 minutes – many of them resulting in infections, complications or permanent damage.
“Such was Guedj’s “industrial” approach, squeezing the maximum number of procedures into the minimum time, that in 2010 he became the highest-earning dental surgeon in France, making up to €2.9m (£2.5m) in fees. He used it to purchase property, paintings and luxury cars.”
The incredibly quick patient times meant that Lionel could see up to 70 patients a day.
For his crimes, Lionel has been jailed for eight years.