As a licensed dental hygienist practicing in Illinois, you know the rewards that you enjoy from that practice. You also know the investment of time, trouble, expense, and effort you put into gaining your Illinois dental hygienist license. Yet you should also appreciate the losses you could suffer if you lose your Illinois dental hygienist license due to misconduct allegations. If you now face dental hygienist disciplinary charges or are under licensing board investigation, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best possible disciplinary outcome. Our highly qualified attorneys are available not only in Chicago but also in Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Naperville, Joliet, Rockford, Elgin, Peoria, Champaign, Waukegan, Bolingbrook, Palatine, Evanston, Springfield, and across the rest of Illinois. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our strategic and effective defense.
Illinois Dental Hygienist License Requirement
You must not practice dental hygiene within Illinois unless you hold a current and valid dental hygienist license. Section 12 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly requires dental hygienists to obtain a license and expressly prohibits practice without that license: “No person ... shall perform the operative procedures of dental hygiene without first applying for and obtaining a license for such purpose.” Your risks of unlicensed practice, or practice on a license suspended or revoked after your discipline, are far too great to even consider. Section 8.5 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act imposes a fine of up to $10,000 for each act of unlicensed dental hygienist practice. You could face a fine of that amount for each patient to whom you provide dental hygiene services while without a valid and current license in good standing. Let us help you fight your disciplinary charges, retain your license, and preserve your practice.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Licensing Authority
Don't doubt the authority and resources of Illinois state regulators to discipline your dental hygiene license, right up to suspension or even revocation. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) holds the Illinois legislature's delegated authority to license dentists and dental hygienists in the state. Section 5 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly authorizes the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to license dental hygienists for practice in Illinois. Section 7 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act further authorizes the Illinois Dental Board to advise the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation on disciplinary and other regulations. When you face an Illinois disciplinary charge against your dental hygienist license, you respond to the Department under regulations recommended by the Dental Board. Let us help you defend and defeat any such disciplinary charges.
Illinois Dental Hygienist License Discipline
Obtaining your Illinois dental hygienist license requires you to meet the Dental Board's qualifications, as adopted by the Department. Yet the Illinois Dental Practice Act does more than just authorize the Board and Department to license dental hygienists. The Act also authorizes discipline of dental hygienists whose conduct violates Board and Department rules and standards. Section 24 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly authorizes the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to discipline your dental hygienist license. Section 24 names disciplinary sanctions not just a refusal to license or to renew your license, but also license reprimand and license probation, all the way up to suspension or revocation of your license. Section 24 also authorizes fines of up to $10,000 for violations and any “other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper....” Beware of these severe potential license sanctions. Get our help defending and defeating your disciplinary charges.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Misconduct
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has the authority to discipline your dental hygienist license on a wide range of specific and general grounds. You may wonder about the typical disciplinary wrongs that dental hygienists commit and whether your alleged misconduct falls within the statutory disciplinary grounds. Section 24 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act lists the common grounds on which the Department disciplines dental hygienists, while also including broad categories within which to discipline other specific wrongs. Our attorneys are prepared to defend you against any of the statutory grounds, including:
- credential fraud when you obtained your dental hygiene license, such as cheating on the dental hygienist's exam, misrepresentations on your application, or your failure to disclose disqualifying grounds;
- practicing dental hygiene without the supervision of a license dentist;
- practicing beyond the scope of dental hygiene, performing services reserved for licensed dentists;
- violating law, rules, or standards for the procurement, use, and distribution of habit-forming drugs, whether or not related to dental hygiene practice;
- fraudulent misrepresentation related to the practice of dental hygiene, obtaining or attempting to obtain a license, money, or any other benefit;
- gross negligence in the practice of dental hygiene;
- dental hygiene practice while knowingly having any infectious, communicable, or contagious disease, when prohibited by regulation;
- impaired ability to practice with reasonable skill and judgment due to habitual or excessive use of, or addiction to, any alcohol, narcotic, stimulant, or other chemical agent;
- conviction of any felony crime or any misdemeanor involving dishonesty or related to dental hygiene practice;
- aiding or abetting unlicensed dental practice or dental hygiene practice by another individual;
- license discipline in another state or jurisdiction;
- dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct likely to deceive, harm, or defraud in the practice of dental hygiene;
- failing to timely respond to the Department's request for investigation, or violating a Department order of probation or other disciplinary term;
- sexual misconduct or other immoral acts related to the practice of dental hygiene.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Investigation
If the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation learns of misconduct allegations against you, it has statutory authority to investigate. Section 25 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly authorizes the Department and Board to investigate dental hygienists alleged to have committed any of the above wrongs. Section 25 authorizes investigation either on a motion by the Department or Board itself, or when an individual submits a verified complaint alleging facts that, if proven true, would establish a disciplinary violation. Section 25 further grants the Department's investigator broad powers to gather evidence of the alleged wrong. The investigator may enter your place of dental hygiene practice to gather that evidence. Retain us the moment you learn of the investigation against you so that we can help you preserve and present your defense evidence while avoiding damaging missteps in the investigation process.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Investigation Statement
One of the first acts of investigation that you should expect is the investigator's request to have your statement on the disciplinary charges. Section 25 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly authorizes the investigator to take a statement from you. Importantly, though, Section 25 gives you clear rights to fair conditions for your statement, including that the investigator first inform you in writing of the charges. The investigator must also inform you that you do not have to give a statement right away and may instead first “seek appropriate consultation prior to consenting to the interview....” In other words, you have the right to our skilled and experienced counsel. By all means, exercise that right. Retain and consult our highly qualified attorneys before giving the Department's investigator your statement. Anything that you tell the investigator in your statement, the investigator may use against you to support the disciplinary charges. We can help you gather the records and other evidence, and properly confirm your recollection, so that any statement you give is accurate, complete, and true to the best of your knowledge and available information. Keep in mind that the Department could construe errors that you make in your statement as dishonesty and obstruction of the investigation process. Let us help you respond appropriately to the investigator's request for your interview.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Hearing
Keep in mind that you have the constitutional right to due process against any state action affecting your property and liberty interests in your dental hygiene license. Due process means fair notice of the disciplinary charges against you and a fair hearing before an impartial decision maker. Section 25 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act recognizes your due process rights by assuring you of a formal hearing on the disciplinary charges. The Department must notify you well in advance of the hearing of its time and place, and the nature of the wrong the disciplinary complaint alleges that you committed. You have the right to retain our attorneys to accompany you to the hearing to advocate on your behalf. Do not hesitate to do so. Hearing procedures can be daunting and complex, and you won't have the skill or mindset to fairly represent yourself.
How We Defend Illinois Dental Hygienist Charges
Our highly qualified attorneys stand ready to help you defend and defeat your disciplinary charges at the formal hearing. We can help you identify your defense witnesses, prepare them to testify, and obtain their attendance at the hearing. We can also help you identify the records and any physical evidence to present in your defense to exonerate you from the disciplinary charges. We can also help you make a case in mitigation of any disciplinary sanction, such as by showing your good character, that you had no prior record, that you had good cause for acting as you did, or that you acted under an emergency or other extenuating circumstance. We may also be able to propose remedial measures that the Department and Board officials can accept to confirm that you are competent and safe to continue your dental practice. Those measures may include additional education, training, or supervision, limitation to certain services or locations, or mentoring, counseling, evaluation, or treatment. We know the kinds of presentations that disciplinary officials are generally able and willing to accept.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Conference
Our attorneys are often able to seek and obtain relief from disciplinary charges at informal conciliation conferences early in the disciplinary proceeding, even before the formal hearing. Your best outcome may be the Department's voluntary dismissal of the charges at an early conference. Section 25 of the Illinois Dental Practice Act expressly authorizes the Department to offer you an informal conference before the formal hearing. Section 25 further assures you of your right to our attorneys' attendance at the informal conference to assist you. Our attorneys know how to invoke the informal conference and make an effective presentation for voluntary resolution. Don't miss your chance to avoid a formal hearing on your disciplinary charges. Let us pursue an early informal resolution.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Post-Hearing Relief
The informal conference and any formal hearing that follows it are not your last chance to avoid discipline. If you have already lost your hearing, our attorneys can help you determine and invoke your administrative appeal rights under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. And if you have already lost your administrative appeal, we may be able to obtain civil court review and relief. Let us help you exhaust your protective procedures until we obtain your best possible disciplinary outcome.
Illinois Dental Hygienist Discipline Consequences
When evaluating your best response to disciplinary charges, keep your collateral consequences in mind. Losing your license and facing a hefty fine seems bad enough. But if you lose your license, or even suffer as little as a reprimand and probation, you could lose your dental hygiene employment. You could also lose licenses you hold in other states or hope to gain elsewhere. And with those losses, you could suffer substantial financial and personal reversals. Don't risk your future. Get our help for your best disciplinary outcome.
Premier Illinois Dental Hygienist License Defense
If you are an Illinois dental hygienist facing license disciplinary charges, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best possible disciplinary outcome. We have helped hundreds of dental hygienists and other professionals successfully defend license disciplinary charges in Illinois and across the nation. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now.
