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Dentist, Patients' Money Disappear

A Pensacola dentist has vanished -- as has his patients' cash -- and police are looking for both.

The Escambia County Sheriff said Dr. Thomas Rollins, a licensed dentist with a history of disciplinary actions suddenly, closed down his office without alerting patients or performing services for which they had already paid, according to the Pensacola News Journal. They are asking patients who may be victims to contact detectives.

Rollins had previously been ruled as “negligent,” by the Florida Board of Dentistry. Officials say he also misrepresented himself as an orthodontic specialist at his practice, Rollins Orthodontics.

The State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Health also are looking into Rollins' disappearance, though no criminal charges have been filed.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.