KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville dental provider said it fired multiple employees after it received widespread national outrage this week for a video reportedly taken by an employee that went viral across social media.
The video was widely shared on social media Monday, which claimed to show employees of Premier Dental Group of Knoxville reading a patient's private journal out loud in a staff area.
The video, which appears to have been originally taken and posted online by an employee heard giggling in the background, shows one employee reading out passages that describe the patient's thoughts on different kinds of treatment, as well as their concerns about other treatment options, to two other employees. WBIR 10News is not showing the video due to privacy concerns.
Several people condemned the video online, demanding action and also calling for people to stop going to the dental office. It was not immediately clear how staff had access to the patient's private journal, or why they read it aloud.
Soon after the employee's video was shared across social media, outrage quickly spread from people who saw the post. The post and local reports were seen far outside East Tennessee and eventually drew the attention of national news outlets such as Fox News.
Premier Dental Group of Knoxville originally posted a statement on Facebook after the video began spreading on social media Monday apologizing for "a recent incident involving an inappropriate video created and shared by some of our employees." More than an hour after the statement was posted, the provider's Facebook profile disappeared and was inaccessible.
"Premier Dental Group of Knoxville is aware of a recent incident involving an inappropriate video created and shared by some of our employees that addressed an individual's medical condition in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner. We deeply regret this incident and the hurt has caused," the statement said.
WBIR 10News captured a screenshot of the original statement before the page went down. It is available in full below.
WBIR reached out to Premier Dental Group of Knoxville on Monday and went to the office for a response. The company did not respond to our requests for more information about the incident.
On Tuesday after the outrage spread further, the company posted to its Google business entry that it had fired the "employees responsible for creating and sharing the video."
"We are also reviewing our internal policies and training procedures to ensure that such an incident does not happen again," it said. "We understand that actions speak louder than words, and we are dedicated to making the necessary changes to uphold the trust of our employees, clients, and the community."
This is not the first time Premier Dental Group of Knoxville has faced public controversy.
In 2023, the company settled a lawsuit after prosecutors accused it of scamming TennCare and possibly putting patients in danger. The lawsuit said the provider used unqualified dental hygienists, upcoded procedures that weren't actually needed or performed, and treated patients like "cattle" to try to maximize profits.
It also alleged the dental provider could have put children in danger, as well as other patients, and accused them of malpractice.
Premier Dental Group of Knoxville agreed to pay around $1 million to settle the lawsuit, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of Tennessee.
In 2019, the company posted to social media about a "regrettable situation involving an employee and another party," saying the incident "saddens us."
Don Bosch, an attorney, said the video could be considered a violation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
"This was a poor decision by the employees of the dental practice and, while their intent may not have been evil or angry and it was just a mistake, it shouldn't have been done. It has certainly subjected their dental practice that they're employed by to liability, both administratively, by way of licensing and civilly, by way of money," he said.
Bosch said that though employees appear to be reading the patient's personal journal, rather than their medical chart, it could still be a violation. As healthcare providers, he also said they also have a responsibility to protect patients' medical information.
The Better Business Bureau said that the dental office has an "F" rating and is not accredited with the bureau.
Tony Binkley, the bureau's president, said the dental office has received some complaints about billing and pain after treatment. He also said that could happen to any business. Instead, the poor rating comes from the lack of response from Premier Dental Group when BBB reached out to them with complaints.
"When we don't get a response from a business on a complaint, it kind of seems to give an indication that the business doesn't care," Binkley said.
However, the BBB did receive a complaint Monday about the video. The bureau reached out to the dental office and said it did reply. The bureau said the dental office said the behavior was unacceptable.
WBIR reached out to the Tennessee Department of Health, which oversees healthcare providers, and asked if there was an active investigation into Premier Dental Group.
The department wouldn't confirm or deny any investigation and said if one does take place, reporters would be able to access that information after the investigation concludes.