New York Medicaid probe drills, finds $40 million in dental fraud

One dental clinic got paid for 79 exams given to one patient over four years, according to the audit, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News.

The law allows only eight exams over four years.

Other findings included a dentist who billed taxpayers for 18 cleanings for one patient over five years and a patient who received 32 cleanings from 19 separate dentists over three years.

"New York needs to root out the rot in the Medicaid dental system," DiNapoli said in a news release accompanying the audit.

DiNapoli's audit also found that the state paid higher rates todentists for cleanings and examinations than most other states, costing taxpayers as much as $60 million.

The audit reviewed $418 million in Medicaid dental transactions during a five-year stretch that ended last August.