Stover to Shutter Dental Practice, Newspaper Reports

A dentist and surgeon who has been the target of protests over patient care is shutting down his practice, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has reported.

Today is the last day of work for Dr. John D. Stover, who operates Cosmetic Centers of Hawaii with offices in Hilo, Waimea and Kona, the newspaper said, citing a report from a Hilo dentist who had referred clients to Stover for oral surgery and who requested anonymity.

A screenshot of the website for Dr. John Stover’s Cosmetic Centers of Hawaii.

Stover’s Hilo office on Kinoole Street was picketed on March 28 by friends and relatives of Kristen “Stenn” Tavares, a 23-year-old Hilo mother of two who went into a coma while undergoing extraction of wisdom teeth in Stover’s office on March 17.

Some of those picketing carried signs demanding the Stover close his practice.

Tavares is on life-support at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

At the time of the picketing, Stover had seven complaints pending with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Three of those complaints were filed in 2013 and two in 2012.

Since then, an additional five complaints have been filed.

Stover has not returned calls from Big Island Now. His Honolulu attorney, Arthur Roeca, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

***Updated 3:35 p.m.***