Dr. Francesco Sebastiani, a Ponte Vedra dentist, is headed into a multi day state administrative hearing after the Florida Department of Health filed complaints tied to patient deaths and alleged misleading advertising. The case is an unusually high profile move for a neighborhood dental office and comes as families push for answers about procedures performed in the Jacksonville area. Regulators and relatives say the disputes center on how patients were screened, how they were monitored and how the practice documented anesthesia and vital signs.
The state's license verification portal lists Francesco Roberto Sebastiani as an active dentist with public complaints on file, including a public complaint flag on his profile. According to the Florida Department of Health, his license number is DN25010, and records show an office at 4870 Deer Lake Drive East, Suite 1316 in Jacksonville. The portal confirms that the Department is pursuing administrative complaints but notes that it does not itself decide whether violations occurred.
The medical examiner concluded that one patient, Roy Estes III, died from “combined toxicity” involving mitragynine (a kratom compound), fluoxetine, diphenhydramine and bupivacaine, and the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office later closed its criminal investigation without filing charges. Family members told reporters they had disclosed his medications and a history of sleep apnea before the procedure, while the dentist's attorney has disputed that account. Those findings and the family's recollections were detailed by First Coast News.
State records also show an administrative complaint filed Jan. 21, 2025, connected to the 2023 death of a patient identified in documents as C.S.; that complaint alleges Sebastiani failed to treat a high risk patient in a hospital setting and did not adequately track vital signs during a dental implant procedure. As News4Jax reported, the Health Department asked the state Board of Dentistry to weigh penalties up to and including license revocation, and public records show a civil settlement related to the incident. That reporting also notes a separate criminal case in which Sebastiani entered a no contest plea after investigators accused him of stealing dental equipment.
Sebastiani has requested a formal administrative hearing, and a three day proceeding could start today in Jacksonville, according to First Coast News. A March complaint accusing the practice of misleading or deceptive advertising has not yet been sent to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a full evidentiary review, and attorneys for the dentist have said the Department of Health has a specific statutory window to make that referral. Regulators say the administrative record in the death cases is expected to hinge on monitoring logs, anesthetic documentation and whether the office followed screening protocols for higher risk patients.
What Regulators Could Seek
The Department of Health's complaint asks the Board of Dentistry to consider sanctions that could range from fines to suspension or permanent revocation of Sebastiani's license, depending on what the administrative record shows. As News4Jax noted, these kinds of proceedings can stretch on for months and can lead to practice restrictions even when prosecutors do not file criminal charges. Local clinicians say such rulings often trigger changes in how practices handle monitoring and documentation, regardless of whether a dentist is found criminally liable.
Relatives of patients say no hearing can undo their losses but hope the process leads to clearer safeguards for others in the chair. The state's online license portal and public complaint notices are the main documents available to the public while the Department investigates, according to the Florida Department of Health. Hoodline will monitor the hearing record and public filings and update coverage as new documents are released.
