A dentist needs a professional license to practice dentistry or to operate a business. Protecting the license is essential because a revocation may ruin a dentist’s career.
However, a dentist may file a complaint to protect their license. This is achievable when they consult an experienced dental license defense attorney who can help them challenge the charges.
Each state has an outlined Dental Practice Act enforced by the State Board of Dentistry. Behaviors that violate the rules can put the professional’s license in danger or result in revocation.
The most common violations are:
1. Substance Abuse
Substance abuse like illicit drugs, alcohol, and prescribed drug abuse can put professionals like dentists in a fix of disciplinary action. In the dental profession, the consequences of drug abuse are varied. They include reprimands, revocations of licenses, and more, depending on how severe the violation is.
If you are a dentist with a substance abuse problem, it’s ideal to seek support through different networks before your license gets revoked.
2. Prescription Drug Violations
Though it’s related in a way to substance abuse, prescription drug violations involve controlled substances, which is a common problem among dentists. The violations often include storing prescription drugs illegally at a dentist’s home, prescribing drugs to relatives or friends illegally, overprescribing drugs, or running an illegal prescription monitoring program.
3. Overbilling or Fraudulent Insurance Claims
Dentists are humans too, and they may be tempted to overbill clients with services or procedures that they did not offer them. Fraudulent or false billing to insurance companies or Medicare may happen at times.
Dentists may also falsify patient records to generate fraudulent or false bills. A dentist may face disciplinary action for fraudulent billing. They may also face criminal charges for their actions in federal and state-level courts.
4. Breaching Confidentiality
In medical and dental practices, patient records are confidential. Breaching confidentiality can result in state and federal law violations. This can result in disciplinary action as it is a violation of board rules and laws on matters of patient confidentiality.
5. False or Deceptive Advertising
Medical professionals, including dentists, must adhere to strict ethical rules when advertising. The rules cover advertising on all social media platforms, which is a common avenue for advertisements in recent times for businesses. False advertising that violates the board’s rules will result in disciplinary action. Dentists have to familiarize themselves with the rules and not violate them in any way.
6. Sexual Misconduct
Sexual advances toward patients or subordinates can lead to dentists facing severe disciplinary actions or complaints. When these cases are extreme, the incidents can lead to civil liability, and a dentist may lose their license.
For this reason, dentists must observe the ethical rules surrounding the dentist-patient relationship in order not to lose their license.
Suspension of Dental Licenses
The Board publishes a disciplinary matrix outlining a number of punishments for various violations of the law governing dentists. Mostly, for a license to be revoked, the crime should be a severe violation.
For example, when a licensee practices dentistry in a way that constitutes dishonorable conduct, they may face probation suspension before revocation of the license.
Hire an Attorney for Fair Representation
If you’re a dentist facing a criminal charge that may lead to license revocation, you can count on dental license defense lawyers to help you protect your license and salvage your career. The team will dig into your case and develop a strategy to help with it.
Contact a lawyer early enough to make a difference in your case. Remember to hire an experienced lawyer who knows the ins and outs. Only they can help you save your career.