Smiling in the Senate

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St. Paul dentist Frank J. Milnar -- who fixed Sen. Norm Coleman's gapped teeth in 1999 and has been using close-ups of the senator's before-and-after-smiles on a promotional Web site -- said he has been told to yank Coleman's teeth off the site.

"I got a call from [Coleman's] chief of staff, Erich Mische, who said to get that thing off, because it was a violation of the Senate ethics rules to use the pictures," Milnar said. "Evidently, they can't do marketing or promoting."

He said that he's trying to eliminate the site but that "apparently it takes five to 10 days to sanitize it." The site was still viewable Thursday night, through this shortcut: www.startribune.com/119.

"I did his teeth when he was mayor, but when he became senator there was a new set of rules," Milnar said. "He came to me because of my expertise, and I did him a favor."

So was Coleman's dental work done for free? "I suppose," Milnar said.

Editor's note: Milnar said that he charged Coleman $6000 for the work which the senator paid. Milnar also said that the price reflected a 20 percent discount even though the senator did not ask for the discount.

A Senate Ethics Committee staff member declined to comment on the topic and Coleman's Washington, D.C., office was closed Thursday for the presidential inauguration.
HEY ALL -- IF THAT LINK ABOVE DOESN'T WORK FOR YOU, CUT AND PASTE THIS THIS:
http://www.milnardds.com/enhanced_smiles/featured_smiles/page_3.html