They say dentists are among the most stressed physicians. A Florida dentist is under additional stress, jailed after a tug-of-war fight, over dentures, with an 85-year-old patient who took a bite out of crime.
The elderly woman was upset over a new set of dentures that didn't quite fit.
57-year-old Michael Hammonds is looking at multiple charges -- including false imprisonment. A dispute began after the dentist attempted to adjust a female patient's lower partial dentures -- the woman says she screamed in pain because the dentures weren't fitting, and she felt like the fake teeth had cut her gums.
Oprah says the energy you put out is the energy you get back. Nothing may prove that idea more vividly than what ensued: patient Virginia Graham threw the partial dentures at the dentist and demanded a refund. But after saying she didn't want the dentures, Graham allegedly made a grab for them.
Apparently, Hammonds wasn't letting go that easily -- and the lower dentures turned into a game of tug-of-war that traveled all the way out to the waiting room, when the elderly woman's finger got caught on a sharp piece of the denture and began bleeding.
Graham then did what anyone would do, of course --she bit the hand that feeds. Adding insult to injury, Graham used her upper dentures that were still in her mouth, to bite down on the dentist's hand -- making him release the disputed lower pair.
After biting the dentist, the woman decided it was time to go -- and tried to leave. But allegedly Hammonds blocked her way and, she says, screamed at her. She also said she became afraid he might hurt her -- which seems a bit like calling the kettle black.
The 85-year-old then "made one final attempt to leave [the dental office] by trying to climb over the receptionist desk and out the receptionist’s window” but was helped down from her perch by Hammonds’ assistant.
Graham told police she was so afraid during the "attack" that she thought she might have a heart attack. Apparently that fear didn't impact her biting skills -- or her ability to leave the dentist office without the dentures in hand. Right about now is a prime time to discuss the pros of putting large charges on a credit card, for protection.
Dentists rank among the most stressed out professions in the health care industry, and Dr. Hammonds has just received a bundle more stress: Law enforcement officers claim multiple bruises on Graham’s upper arms and forearms.
With quick bruising for the elderly, those indicators of a struggle aren't faring well for the doc who didn't have a "Get Out of Jail Free Card" to spare: Hammonds was eventually released on $4,000 bond from Volusia County Branch Jail after being arrested and charged with false imprisonment, grand theft, and -- perhaps among the strangest of legal charges -- battery and assault on a person older than 65.
Police say the woman was left covered in blood and bruises -- though the bulk of that blood may have been from another "donor".
As for Graham, she walked away -- no charges filed.