TULSA, Okla. — Almost seven thousand patients could have been exposed to HIV and Hepatitis B and C. The health department says a dentist is to blame.

The complaint says a device used to sterilize instruments was not working properly.

"We made her pull out the actual instruments in the auto-clave because I had her go through her regular procedures," said Susan Rogers from the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry. "The instruments that came out of the autoclave were horrible. I wouldn't let my nephew play with them out in the dirt. They had rust on them."

The health department is beginning to notify patients who should be tested. Those patients will receive letters in the mail.

The dentist has voluntarily stopped practicing because of the investigation.