Before graduating from dental school, you must complete rigorous training programs. You must then pass the licensure examinations administered by the Dental Board of California (DBC). Once successful, the board will grant you a professional license.

Unfortunately, an accusation of negligence or malpractice can jeopardize your efforts and license or lower your odds of achieving professional and financial success.

If you or a loved one has been served with a formal notice of an administrative hearing or if you are the subject of an investigation, you should seek the advice of the Fresno License Attorney as soon as possible. Contacting us early enough allows us time to gather and prepare the appropriate information about the allegations against you and use the proper laws to enable us to advocate for your rights, job, and future.

An Overview of the Various Roles Played By Dental Professionals

The services provided by dentists are invaluable, helping maintain beautiful smiles that last a lifetime. They offer exceptional treatments using cutting-edge procedures and technology. As a dental practitioner, you must be accurate when conducting dental procedures and treatments. You must maintain your composure as you work, help patients relax, and guide them accordingly. Even a single mistake or misunderstanding can lead to life-changing repercussions for your career.

Dental assistants, on the other hand, are responsible for the following administrative tasks:

  • Organizing the instruments a dentist uses to perform dental procedures
  • Helping patients, especially children, remain calm
  • Assisting with minor dental procedures
  • Ensuring instruments are sterile and safe

Given the scope and nature of your obligations, it should not come as a surprise that you might face a complaint at some point in your career.

The primary responsibility of a dental hygienist is to perform preventative dentistry procedures like maintaining proper oral hygiene. Their responsibilities include:

  • Performing diagnostic imaging
  • Educating patients about cleanliness and diet
  • Evaluating patients' health records
  • Administering fluoride treatments

Becoming a dentist requires significant time, diligent study, and extensive training. Afterward, the DBC subjects you to a costly and demanding process to grant you a professional license. Nevertheless, just one misstep or complaint can put your license in jeopardy.

The following are examples of common complaints or allegations you might face:

  • Sexual abuse or misconduct against a coworker or patient
  • Intoxication with alcohol or drugs while on duty
  • Committing insurance fraud
  • Obtaining your professional license through dishonest means
  • Treating patients with excessive drugs and treatments
  • Providing dental care while showing gross negligence or incompetence
  • Allowing unlicensed assistants to operate under your supervision
  • Holding a criminal conviction that impacts your capacity to perform dental obligations effectively
  • Threatening or harassing former patients from testifying or filing complaints against you

Disciplinary Rules and Guidelines Under the Dental Board of California

An administrative law judge (ALJ) uses guidelines published by the licensing board to decide the outcome of investigations during administrative hearings. These policies ensure dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists offer safe and competent services.

Various disciplinary actions can be taken, including:

  • Fines and citations—a less serious disciplinary action that may impact your ability to acquire new clients or jobs in the future
  • Interim suspensions—if the Dental Board of California suspects you might continue to perpetrate criminal acts, it could suspend your license during the inquiry. Seek legal advice promptly, as the investigation may take considerable time
  • Public reprimand—although public reprimands do not involve fines, they carry the same weight as citations regarding consequences. An administrative law judge (ALJ) typically applies it in situations where dental practitioners have not caused harm to a patient
  • Suspension or revocation—if your allegations are significant or if you do not demonstrate to the DBC your intent to contest the accusations, you risk having your license revoked or suspended
  • Probationary period with a stay of revocation—in situations where achieving complete victory is challenging, this is often the best course of action. It lets you continue to practice while adhering to specific probation terms and conditions. Your license attorney may be able to work toward shortening your probation term

The DBC evaluates the following elements when deciding whether to issue a suspension, probation, or revocation:

  • Actual or potential threat to public safety
  • The nature and severity of the behavior or unlawful act committed
  • Past disciplinary record
  • Actual or potential risk to patients
  • Aggravating or mitigating evidence
  • The overall pattern of violations
  • Compliance with probation and criminal sentence terms, if applicable
  • Proof of rehabilitation
  • When the offense took place
  • Criminal history

The Terms and Conditions of the Probation

The DBC is responsible for protecting consumers. It imposes a probationary period to ensure predetermined conditions safeguard patients and establish systems for monitoring recovery progress. In most cases, the Board recommends a 3-year probationary period unless circumstances require a longer or shorter time. The following paragraphs outline the common conditions of probation.

Compliance With All Rules and Regulations

You must adhere to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing the practice of dentistry in California. You must also comply with court-mandated probation and fines. You are required to provide the Board with a detailed summary of your criminal conviction.

Presenting Quarterly Reports

You should submit signed quarterly reports under perjury penalties within 7 days of the assigned quarter's start. These reports should show if you have been observing your probation conditions.

Your Status Of Practice, Licensure, or Residency In Another State Other Than California

If you leave California to work or live elsewhere, you must notify the board in writing. Include the departure date along with the expected return date. If you stop practicing in California, probation will be suspended.

Meetings and Interviews

You must show up for every in-person meeting and attend interviews according to the board's instructions.

Costs Involved In Probation Monitoring

All charges associated with monitoring your probation must be paid by the dates specified in the agreement. The payments are made directly to the DBC. If you fail to make your monthly fees, you must submit a written description detailing why you cannot pay the fee and when you intend to submit the payments.

Surrendering the License

You must surrender your professional license to the board if you stop working due to medical grounds, retirement, or failure to meet probationary terms. The DBC will assess your proposal and use its discretion to decide whether to accept or take a different action considered fair and fitting based on the facts.

Completing Your Examinations

After completing either your Western Regional Examination Board (WREB), you can begin practicing. You are responsible for paying all charges associated with the examination.

If you do not pass the required examination three times, you must wait one year before retaking it. However, you must first provide evidence that you have remedied the areas where you had faults.

Community Service

Within the next sixty days, present the board with a community work schedule in which you routinely provide volunteer assistance to a non-profit or charitable organization. Dental-related activities are not required as part of the community service.

You must provide a copy of your probation to the institution where you will perform community service before you can participate. It is recommended that you complete your community service at least 120 days before the end of your probationary period.

Continuance or Completion of the Probationary Term

The DBC will schedule an administrative hearing if you violate the probation requirements. During this hearing, the Board can revoke or suspend your license, or set aside the stay order if, during the probation:

  • A petition is submitted to revoke the probation, or an accusation is made against you
  • The Office of the Attorney General is asked to organize a plea to cancel your probation term or lodge an allegation against your professional license

The probationary term is extended, and it can only lapse once the licensing board takes action. Once you complete your probationary period, the DBC will reinstate your license.

The Dental Board of California Professional License Disciplinary Process

The following are steps included in the DBC's disciplinary procedure:

Filing a Formal Complaint

A complaint submitted to the board is typically the first step in the disciplinary procedure. Patients, colleagues, and health insurance representatives can all submit complaints.

The Investigation

The DBC will look into the case to decide its merit. The board can seek clarification from the complainant and demand your response if necessary.

Consent Order

You can receive a consent order when the inquiries are concluded, and the DBC has determined the complaint's validity. This order is a recourse to an administrative hearing or punishment. It is legally binding between you, the board, and the California state to agree on an appropriate plan, including punishments and remediations. If the accusation against you is warranted, this consent order alternative could be best, as it demonstrates cooperation and offers a chance for a license reinstatement.

Formal Complaints and Hearing Before the Board

The board can initiate the official discipline procedure if the complaint is accepted. This includes a disciplinary hearing before the Administrative Law Judge, who will decide whether disciplinary action is appropriate.

How To Appeal The ALJ's decision

The following is a step-by-step description of how to appeal ALJ's decision to keep your dental professional license.

     1. Proposed Decision by the Administrative Law Judge

Once your hearing has concluded, the administrative law judge (ALJ) can present the licensing agency with a proposed ruling. This normally occurs within thirty days after the hearing, but it may sometimes take more days.

Now that this has occurred, the licensing body has 100 days to decide whether to accept the ruling, change it, or decline it. Alternatively, it can let the judgment become final automatically if it does not take any action.

     2. Agency Responses to the Proposed Ruling

The licensing agency may adopt the ALJ's decisions as its own. The licensing body can also overturn the decision and replace it with its verdict. The ALJ's proposed ruling will automatically become the final ruling if the board does not take any action within the allotted time frame of one hundred days.

      3. Request to Reconsider The Ruling

Before the ruling is finalized, you or your lawyer can ask that the regulatory body review it. You can identify errors, as well as present fresh facts or arguments, through the process of reconsideration.

If reconsideration is granted, the agency can request additional oral or written arguments before releasing a new ruling. This new decision could either confirm or modify previous decisions.

     4. Final Verdict and Appealing The Ruling

Once a decision has been made, the next stage is to file for review from the courts if necessary.

Under section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), you can petition the Superior Court for a Writ of Mandate (Writ of Administrative Mandamus) if your license has been revoked, suspended, or reinstatement has been rejected.

The deadline for submitting this request could be as short as thirty days from the issuance date of the ruling that denied, suspended, or revoked the petition.

     5. Superior Court Reconsider The Administrative Ruling

A Writ of Administrative Mandamus petition requests that the Superior Court review the administrative ruling. If the petition is granted, the court must have the whole administrative record and the legal reasons from both parties.

When an appeal is successful, the court often returns the case to the regulatory body with specific directions regarding how to handle it.

     6. Reapplication Following Revocation

In most cases, if an ALJ decides to cancel your license, you must wait twelve months before you can reapply. The waiting period starts when you receive written notice of the ALJ's judgment.

Factors That Could Cause The Licensing Board To Have Your License Revoked?

The following are circumstances that could lead the board to revoke your license:

  • Failure to submit a defense notice or attend the disciplinary hearing
  • Violating the conditions of your probation program
  • Conviction or evidence of physical or sexual abuse offenses

Mitigating factors you could use against the alleged claims include:

  • The number of years you have practiced as a dental practitioner
  • Early admissions
  • Lack of prior disciplinary actions
  • Personal factors affecting your undertaking during the event, such as a loved one's death or illness

Find A Seasoned License Defense Law Firm Near Me

Obtaining a license to practice dentistry requires considerable effort. However, you could lose it in seconds. Losing a professional license implies losing your livelihood. This could place you and your loved ones in financial hardship and affect your career. Therefore, it is crucial to seek legal representation. At Fresno License Attorney, we can help you through this entire process. We can develop a solid defense strategy and advocate for your best interests using our expertise. Call us today at 559-777-7040 to speak with one of our attorneys.