The Carrollton oral surgeon accused of striking his patients and committing Medicaid fraud pleaded guilty Thursday to theft and agreed to give up his dental practice in Carroll County.

All other criminal charges were dropped under the terms of the negotiated plea, according to prosecutors.

Gordon Trent Austin, appearing in Carroll County Superior Court before Judge John Simpson, was sentenced to serve five years of probation after pleading guilty to six counts of theft by taking for submitting false claims to Medicaid.

Austin was also required to pay more than $10,000 in fines and fees.

Part of the terms of the plea agreement, Carroll County Assistant District Attorney Anne Allen said, was that if Austin pleaded guilty to six counts of theft by taking and agreed not to practice in the county, then the state would not pursue the two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children and eight counts of simple battery the oral surgeon had been previously indicted on by a grand jury.

Without Austin’s agreement to give up practicing dentistry under the terms of the plea, Allen said, she was unable to be assured by the state’s dentistry board that he would have had his license revoked, even if the case had gone to trial and he had been convicted on all counts.

Austin was indicted in Carroll County in March 2008 for simple battery, aggravated assault and first degree cruelty to children. More charges were added in June after prosecutors added to the alleged victims in the case, bringing the total to seven patients.

According to the indictments, Austin was accused of striking several patients with his hand or a metal object, possibly a dental elevator, while the patients were seeking treatment. At least three of the seven patients were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged incidents, according to Allen.

Austin was arrested on the charges in April 2008 after turning himself in. He was released the same day on bond.

According to the June indictment, Austin allegedly slapped a girl on the head during surgery and struck another girl with a metal object causing her head to swell.

In court Thursday, following an investigation by the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control unit, Austin pleaded guilty to submitting false claims to the Medicaid program for dental extractions of teeth he had never done, according to court records.

Allen said the Medicaid program reimburses dentists more than $250 per tooth, and that Austin had submitted false bills to the program dating back to 2003.

Attorney Brian Steel, who represented Austin, said he was pleased with the outcome Thursday after the indictments were dismissed, though he believed the charges should have never been brought against his client. Steel described his client, who he said continues to serve in the U.S. Navy as a captain, as a man of high character. Austin had practiced dentistry for more than 30 years.

“He is a really good man,” he said.

Allen said the decision to negotiate the plea deal with Austin came after the district attorney’s office spoke to five of the seven patients, and was trying to find a way to stop Austin from continuing to practice in the county. According to court records, Austin is prohibited from participating as a provider in any state Medicaid program.

“I am pleased in that he will not be able to hurt anybody else, which had been the goal of the prosecution,” she said.

Authorities said Austin had continued to practice as a dentist in Carrollton after he had been indicted but later closed his office.