Moms Picket Office of Pediatric Dentist

Picketers took to the pavement at daybreak Friday to call attention to what they allege is a Chatsworth pediatric dentist’s mistreatment of young patients.

“We want an investigation,” said Reseda resident Brooke Catalfamo, one of the first who arrived. Parents are accusing the dentist of hitting patients and pulling teeth without proper sedation

Mothers protested outside the offce of Dr. Edward Dove at 20523 Devonshire St. near Mason Avenue.

Attempts to immediately reach Dr. Dove for comment were unsuccessful. However, Dr. Dove, who also has an office in Bakersfield, defended his practice on recent television news reports.

He previously told Bakerfield's Eyewitness News: "You don't sit across and scream at my patients. And we had to call the police on them this morning.

"I've not hit anybody. I've do not punch anybody, what they said. It's all bogus.

"Because of all this stuff we are now ordering cameras. Not for parents, but for us.

"We're being bullied. We're being harassed. That's all it is, that's all it is.

The Chatsworth protestors distributed thick leaflets of complaints. The outcry has spawned three Facebook pages, here, here and here.

Dr. Dove recently told Bakersfield's News 17: "We are not an abortion clinic. This is harassment We had to call the police this morning because the protestors were harassing the patients. If a patient has a problem with us, there are other pediatric dentists in Bakersfield. We had a full schedule of patients today."

Catalfamo discovered the controversy online, she said. It all began after an altercation with the dentist’s employee. Catalfamo said she visited to ask about a cap that fell off eight months after a prior appointment at Dove’s office.

But the dentist wanted to charge her $75 to review the work that was done, she said. Tensions arose, and Catalfamo said she and her family members were kicked out.

“When I left, he closed the doors. He closed the blinds on us like we were crazy,” she said.

So Catalfamo hit the web where she said she encountered allegations of mistreatment.

“My stomach dropped,” she said.

She asked her son the next morning to recall his experiences with Dr. Dove.

“‘They slapped me in the face and in the head and I was crying,’” Catalfamo recalls her son saying.

However, Catalfamo admited repeatedly that these remain just allegations.

Santa Clarita mother Ashley Tucker said her daughter, after an appointment, complained of what seemed to be lingering symptoms of sedation.

"She held on to me," Tucker said. "She was sweating. She was just drenched."

Her daughter napped after the long drive home, Tucker said. But her daughter still complained of breathing issues after she awoke. Her daughter said that she was strapped ankles-to-forehead and was struggling to breathe, Tucker said. 

"Why are you strapping her down if she's sedated?" she said.

The Contra Costa Times reports that Dove's certification to practice oral sedation had lapsed as of Aug. 31, after he failed to pay the renewal fee, according to Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the state Board of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the dental board.

"He should not be administering oral conscious sedation to anyone," Heimerich told the newspaper. "That's something that could lead to his license being revoked."

Local college student Marjorie Guzman's sister was scheduled for an appointment that morning until their mother heard the allegations about Dr. Dove.

"She was really scared. She really doesn't like what's going on," Guzman said. "So she's definitely not coming back."

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