Dentist accused of trying to work on patients while drunk

MARS, Pa. — Police have charged a Butler County, Pennsylvania, dentist for being intoxicated while trying to work on patients.

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Police were called to Refresh Dental Management in Mars in March. Officers arrived and said they found Dr. Gregory Bellotti smelling of alcohol and intoxicated.

According to the criminal complaint, Bellotti admitted to police that he drank a bottle of vodka before they arrived.

Bellotti was charged at the end of July - because police say his own staff members were so concerned on March 23 that they called 911 to report his "altered level of consciousness."

The report showed, he was scheduled to see 14 patients that day and did treat eight of them before his co-workers realized something was wrong and stepped in.

The state has temporarily suspended his license.

According to documents filed with that suspension, Bellotti was the only dentist working that day and he was found sleeping in a dental chair in a rarely used examination room around 2:30 in the afternoon.

Police said Bellotti appeared to be confused and was unable to do simple tasks or answer questions.

The dentist was taken to a hospital and his medical records show he was diagnosed with "acute alcohol intoxication" and found to have a blood alcohol level of .418 percent, which is a little more than five times the legal driving limit.

WPXI checked with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and found it classifies anything over .3 percent poses a "significant risk of death" for the drinker.

Police said Bellotti's reckless conduct placed or may have placed the patients in danger of death.

Belotti has a formal arraignment in early September.

Cox Media Group