If you are a dental professional, be it a dentist, dental hygienist, or dental assistant, you have undergone a rigorous California dental licensing process and have proven your worth. However, an accusation of professional misconduct or a conviction of a criminal offense substantially related to your profession can easily jeopardize your career. You need to consult a professional license defense attorney as soon as you learn that you are under investigation by the dental board for any misconduct.

At San Diego License Attorney, we have successfully represented several clients in professional license defense cases, including those in the dental profession. We are skilled in the nuances of these cases, including investigations, witness testimony, documentary exhibits, subpoenas, and special rules of evidence.

If you are a dental hygienist, dental assistant, or dentist hygienist or have applied to be one and are under investigation by the Hygienist Committee or Dental Board for your fitness to practice because of supposed misconduct, call us for a complimentary consultation.

The Mission of the Dental Board of California

The Dental Board of California, based in California and part of the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), oversees professional licenses for dentists and dental assistants. The Dental Hygiene Committee, also based in Sacramento and part of DCA, oversees dental hygienists’ licenses. Specifically, the dental professionals that fall under these boards include:

  • RDHAP (Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice)
  • RDHEF (Registered Dental Hygienist Extended Functions)
  • RDH (Registered Dental Hygienist)
  • RDAEF (Registered Dental Assistant Extended Functions)
  • RDA (Registered Dental Assistant)
  • DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine)
  • DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery)

The Dental Hygiene Committee and Dental Board of California are regulated under the Dental Practice Act, covered under the California Code of Regulations and the state’s Business and Professions Code. Also, like any license disciplinary matter, dental license-related discipline is regulated under the California APA (California Procedures Act), which is found under the California Government Code.

That said, the Dental Hygiene Committee and Dental Board conduct investigations against dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and other dental professionals for the misconduct they commit. If the party under investigation is found liable, the relevant board will also impose disciplinary actions against them, including license revocation or suspension, a fine, citation, and public reprimand.

Common Allegations Against Dentists, Dental Assistants, and Dental Hygienists

The most prevalent types of accusations against dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists may include, without limitation:

  • Negligence, incompetence, or gross negligence in performing your dental care duties
  • Abandoning patients
  • Violating standards of care
  • DUI, felony, or misdemeanor criminal charges
  • Failing to pay federal, state, or local taxes
  • Inadequately maintaining patient records and charts
  • Handling drugs inappropriately
  • Non-therapeutic prescribing
  • Medi-Cal billing fraud
  • Reckless conduct
  • Substance addiction or abuse
  • Sexual misconduct or abuse, be it against a staff member or patient,
  • Violating drug laws
  • Conviction of an offense substantially related to your dental duties
  • HIPAA violations
  • Failing to issue refunds for over-payments that patients or their insurance providers made
  • Declining to attend to a patient who genuinely needs care
  • Using misleading or false advertising to acquire patients

Stages In the Disciplinary Process and How to Prepare Your Defense

Even the most qualified dental professionals can be blindsided by a sudden claim or complaint of professional conduct they never anticipated. Dental professionals are easy targets for discontented patients or people who wish to damage a reputation. You want to comprehend your legal rights, the dental board's enforcement program, and the appropriate time to hire legal counsel.

Even though some complaints, like unhappy clients or fee disputes, may seem trivial, they can escalate into various, more severe problems. For example, a request for a record may reveal deficient record keeping or HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violations. You want to treat any complaint as a serious matter and respond carefully.

Complaints and InvestigationsL

The disciplinary process can be triggered in different ways, like:

  • A complaint from a patient, co-worker, insurer, or anonymous party
  • Malpractice settlement disclosure
  • Disciplinary action in a different state
  • A notice of criminal conviction or arrest

In most cases, the disciplinary process for dental professionals starts with something harmless, such as a request for a patient's records or a letter requesting basic information. Most unsuspecting dental professionals or their staff may not know that any of these indicate that the Dental Board is about to start an investigation. Usually, the communication regarding investigations comes from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)’s Division of Investigation and not the Dental Board.

Considering what is on the line, it is essential not to take any investigation lightly, whether or not you feel confident regarding the facts of the case against you. You are dealing with experienced investigators who can trigger devastating repercussions. Having the board close an investigation without hurting your practice or license is the primary goal.

That said, whether you are an applicant or a license holder, you want to have a skilled license defense lawyer fighting for you. Based on your case and the matter under investigation, your lawyer can assist you in taking all or some of these steps to develop a compelling defense and show the dental board why disciplinary action is not justified:

  • Bring the notice required to conserve your legal right to defend yourself
  • Obtain all the required records
  • Comprehensively review the case facts and available defense
  • Analyze the law governing the supposed unprofessional conduct
  • Develop defense assertions to disprove accusations
  • Hold a meeting with investigators to submit information to disprove the accusations against you or lower the seriousness of the supposed violation
  • Prepare you for investigator interviews with strategizing and simulation interviews
  • Use an investigator from the defense side to acquire any new witnesses or evidence
  • Request an expert to review any relevant records
  • Acquire an expert rehab plan and psychological assessment, if appropriate
  • Identify any possible criminal liability and its effect on your defense
  • Develop a rehab plan for any chemical dependency problem

Remember not to talk to investigators without your lawyer present. The attorney will protect your legal rights when your case begins and respond to accusations on your behalf to protect your career, livelihood, and reputation.

Accusation Filing

If the board concludes that there is enough evidence to justify disciplinary actions, the department will send your case to the Office of the Attorney General. A deputy attorney general will look into the matter to decide whether it meets the legal standards for a formal Statement of Issues (if you are a license applicant) or Accusation (if you are a license holder) to be filed.

The Accusation or Statement of Issues will then be served to you. Once it is served, you generally have fifteen days to file your response. This response is called a Notice of Defense and Request for Discovery. Failure to file your response will lead to the dental board or hygienist committee revoking or suspending your license by default. After filing your response, your matter will be scheduled for administrative proceedings to be conducted generally at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). Your lawyer will help you with your defense during this hearing. Defense entails two primary steps, including:

  • Negotiations—your lawyer can work with your licensing board and the attorney general's office to try to have them withdraw the accusation against you or negotiate the most favorable settlement terms (plea agreement). Should these parts reach terms you agree to, the attorney general will execute a disciplinary order and a stipulated settlement to solve the case. The disciplinary order will state the terms and conditions you will comply with to retain your professional board.
  • Preparing for a hearing—if fair settlement terms are not reached, your lawyer can vigorously defend you during the hearing at the OAH.

If the attorney general has signed an accusation against you, call a lawyer as soon as possible to assess the allegations against you, conserve your legal rights to defense, and fight for you.

Per the statistics of the Dental Board Enforcement, dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists generally have six months on average between when a person files a complaint against them and filing a formal accusation by the dental board. If a formal accusation is filed, it is publicly published on the dental board’s website. Your goal should be to move faster to avoid the disciplinary process altogether.

Administrative Hearing

If your lawyer cannot resolve the accusation against you satisfactorily through negotiations with the attorney general's office, your case will be subject to administrative proceedings at the OAH, where a decision will be made. Administrative proceedings are court trials conducted at any OAH locations, including San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

Among the parties present at the hearing will be an ALJ (administrative law judge) presiding over the hearing, your lawyer, and a deputy attorney general from the Department of Justice. During the hearing, the defense and prosecution argue their cases and table evidence per the rules of evidence of the administrative court.

The judge then reviews the evidence submitted and has thirty days to make a decision and recommend disciplinary measures for the board. The board is obligated to follow the ALJ’s recommendations, but it may instead impose its own disciplinary actions.

The dental board can impose various disciplinary actions based on the facts surrounding the allegations and any mitigating or aggravating factors present. Potential types of professional disciplinary actions include the following:

  • Fine and citation—these are relatively minor forms of disciplinary action, but since they will be publicized on the board's website, they may damage your chances of acquiring new clients or future employment. Therefore, you want to fight not to face even minor disciplinary actions.
  • Public reprimand—even though it does not include a fine, a reprimand can affect your license similarly to a fine and citation. A public reprimand is only imposed in cases where no actual damage was inflicted upon a patient.
  • Interim suspension—should the board feel you will likely do something unsafe, they could suspend your professional license during investigations. A lawyer can assist you in overturning an interim suspension if possible, enabling you to continue practicing. Since investigations may take an extended period to end, waiting out the interim suspension may not be in your best interest.
  • License probation—usually, your lawyer can work to obtain your license probation instead of revocation or suspension. When winning your case is not an option due to overwhelming evidence, placing your license on probation could be ideal. You will continue practicing with your license on probation, although with particular probationary terms and restrictions imposed. Your lawyer can fight to obtain you the minimum probation period.
  • Revocation or suspension—when the accusations against you are particularly severe, the board may revoke or suspend your license. Your lawyer can fight to minimize the suspension period or to reinstate the revoked license as quickly as possible.

Before determining the kind of disciplinary action to impose, the board must consider several factors per the disciplinary guidelines. These include:

  • The severity and nature of the violation or accusation
  • Any past professional disciplinary actions you have faced
  • Whether any harm befell a patient
  • The kind of possible harm that may have resulted
  • If there are one or several allegations against you currently
  • Mitigating or aggravating evidence
  • Rehab evidence, like finishing a counseling or drug abuse program or furthering your dental education.
  • If there is a criminal record for a crime substantially related to the dental practice, the period elapsed since your conviction, and whether you adhered to any probationary orders imposed against you

If you are not content with the ALJ’s decision or the board-imposed disciplinary action, you can appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court.

Find a Dental Professional License Defense Attorney Near Me

At San Diego License Attorney, we have decades of experience fighting to defend health care professionals, including dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists, against disciplinary actions affecting their licenses during investigations, OAH hearings, in superior court, and federal courts for criminal law, licensure, and administrative law matters. We have handled several cases and trials and are ready to vigorously represent you against any allegation. Call us at 858-665-2455 for a consultation.