Whether you prefer the bustle of Fargo or Bismarck, or the peaceful steppes of the Great Plains, North Dakota has an urgent need for dental hygienists since most of the state’s population lives in rural areas. While Fargo is the main urban center of North Dakota, small rural towns remain the chief way of life in the Roughrider State. Subsequently, small dental practices and rural clinics outnumber large dental groups, and these regions have a pressing need for dental hygienists to increase North Dakotans’ access to much-needed dental care services.
Subsequently, dental hygienists in North Dakota virtually always have their pick of employers, and numerous options in both employment and entrepreneurship with respect to how you’d like to build your dental health career. While small dental practices throughout the state need you, especially in central and western North Dakota. Larger metros with lots of practitioners are very sparse, you may still face the occasional threat to your dental hygienist license.
You worked very hard to earn your dental hygienist credentials. Nevertheless, dental boards take extreme caution when it comes to public safety. A simple mistake, or even clerical errors that weren’t your fault, may result in a foreboding letter from the dental board.
The LLF National Law Firm advocates for dental hygienists throughout North Dakota and the entire nation. Our experienced team aids dental hygienists all over the United States in navigating threats to their licenses and ameliorating the disciplinary process. We can represent you even if you have a complex case. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out our online intake form to tell us about your case.
Who Presides Over North Dakota Dental Hygienists?
Dental hygienists in North Dakota are governed by the North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners (NDBDE). The NDBDE presides over dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants who practice in North Dakota. It is an independent state office and the Governor’s office presides over it, with nine members appointed by the governor: six dentists, one dental hygienist, one dental assistant, and one independent consumer member.
In addition to the standard initial licensing and permitting process for dental hygienists, North Dakota has an accelerated pathway program for members of the military and military spouses to start dentistry careers in the state.
In order to earn a dental hygienist license in North Dakota, you must successfully complete the state’s Ethics and Jurisprudence Exam in addition to the licensing exam. You are also required to have hands-on CPR training.
Additional permits are required for North Dakota dental hygienists to administer nitrous oxide or local anesthesia. There are also supplemental restorative functions and anesthesia assistant permits you can apply for with proof of the appropriate education and experience.
Threats to Your Dental Hygienist License in North Dakota
North Dakota dental hygienists must practice under the professional standards and rigorous licensing requirements set by the NDBDE and state dental practice laws. Dental hygienists are a key element of public health within North Dakota, and dental patients trust that you will not take advantage of them in a vulnerable state. Subsequently, the NDBDE takes complaints seriously, and you may be accused of professional misconduct.
Allegations of Unprofessional Conduct
An employer, patient, insurance company, or other party may file a complaint that asserts you were unprofessional when performing your duties. These allegations are serious and they include, but are not limited to:
- Unnecessary or Unauthorized Dental Services: Navigating dental coverage can be overwhelming and confusing for patients, especially since dental coverage may be insufficient for their care needs. Dental hygienists in North Dakota also must practice under a dentist’s supervision, and generally do not have the ability to decide on a patient’s care plan. However, your license may still be at risk if a patient alleges that they did not authorize services the supervising dentist performed, which you may have assisted with.
- Inappropriate Behavior: Dental patients can be in a very vulnerable state, and their pain may require them to be heavily sedated. Whether by confusion under sedation, or a simple misinterpretation, a patient may accuse you of inappropriate touching or language during their procedure.
- Drug or Alcohol Use: In North Dakota, it isn’t completely forbidden for dental hygienists to engage in recreational use of drugs and alcohol. However, if your drug or alcohol use interferes with your ability to safely perform your job duties, you risk disciplinary action.
- Being Convicted of a Crime: Under the North Dakota Dental Practice Act, conviction of certain offenses can result in sanctions or revocation of your license if the NDBDE determines that the charges have a direct bearing on your ability to safely serve the public.
- Mental or Physical Health Struggles: The North Dakota Dental Practice Act includes mental and physical disabilities as a possible condition for sanctions if they impact your ability to practice.
Administrative Challenges
North Dakota dental hygienists frequently run into administrative challenges that can unintentionally result in board inquiries:
- Documentation Issues: Dental hygienist careers in North Dakota can take many different shapes since the demand for practitioners, especially rural practitioners, is so high. Rural dental clinics, community health services, prisons, rest homes, and other underserved areas statewide tend to need dental hygienists, so you may go where you are needed rather than work for one dental practice full-time. While you will choose the career path that works best for your needs, contract work and employment with multiple institutions can result in discrepancies in your licensure and employment documents. If NDBDE sees a large number of administrative inquiries into your records in a short timeframe, they could temporarily suspend your license even though you did nothing wrong.
- Missing or Improper CPR Training: Dental hygienists in North Dakota are mandated to complete CPR training in order to obtain a license. It must be hands-on training. If you don’t have the correct training in order but continue to practice due to the strong demand for practitioners, your career is at serious risk.
- Correct Permits: North Dakota dental hygienists are required to obtain specific permits for anesthesia. Only certain duties with anesthesia can be performed with the basic permit; you may need additional education or clinical hours to qualify for the anesthesia assistant permit. Nitrous administration permits also require proof of sufficient education. Even if you have sufficient clinical hours and training, being unable to produce this permit can have disastrous consequences for your license.
- Failure to Self-Report: Whether you are applying for your initial dental hygienist license in North Dakota or a renewal, criminal background checks are required. You are also mandated to self-report criminal charges and disciplinary actions from other state dentistry boards within 60 days, no matter the nature or severity of the incident. Even if your charges are dismissed, you are still required to self-report or face sanctions.
- Failure to Respond to the Board: You have 60 days to respond to the NDBDE if they communicate with you regarding a complaint or potential investigation. Failure to respond will result in sanctions.
Bureaucratic Challenges
North Dakota may conjure up images of the wide and open lawless west, but it has regulations and bureaucracy like anywhere else in the modern United States. In addition, there are rigorous practice standards for dental hygienists. Dental hygienists who practice in North Dakota can set up their careers almost any way they want, wherever in the state they want, but can still inadvertently find themselves facing cumbersome bureaucratic issues with the NDBDE.
- Military Pathway Compliance: North Dakota offers an expedited pathway for members of the military and their spouses to meet the state’s needs for dentistry workers. While you must demonstrate the same competency as a civilian earning their dental hygienist license through academic or clinical hours, it’s very easy for paperwork to be misplaced and civil servants to accidentally apply the same rules for civilians while you are in the licensure process.
- Filing Errors: Government agencies are run by humans and humans can make mistakes. However, you can be unfairly held responsible for a state employee misfiling your paperwork.
Dental Hygienist Discipline Process in North Dakota
As a dental hygienist in North Dakota, disciplinary action is handled by the NDBDE. The NDBDE takes public safety seriously and recently made disciplinary proceedings public to increase public trust in dental professionals. Complaints and medical information are kept confidential, but disciplinary proceedings are not.
- Complaint: An individual files a notarized complaint to the NDBDE in writing. While they can make anonymous complaints, they will not go far in North Dakota’s legal system. A complaint will not be investigated by the NDBDE unless it is not anonymous, and the complainant authorizes the release of their medical and dental records.
- Board Review: NDBDE reviews the complaint and any supplemental materials, like insurance claims and medical records, when the Complaint Committee presents them at the board meeting. As NDBDE meetings take place only a few times a year, this process may take several months depending on the severity of the allegations and the backlog of complaints to review. If NDBDE believes the complaint does not warrant an investigation, the complaint will be dismissed, and both the complainant and defendant will be notified. If they decide otherwise, an investigation will open. You are given the opportunity to respond to the NDBDE in writing regarding the complaint.
- Investigation: A NDBDE representative will contact the parties involved, interview witnesses, request records, seek impartial outside expert opinions, and other investigatory steps permitted under state law. During the investigation, NDBDE members do not discuss the matter with the accused, the complainant, or any outside parties.
- Dismissal or Escalation: After the investigation concludes, the NDBDE will decide whether to issue sanctions or dismiss the complaint based on the findings of the investigation.
- Adjudication: You will have an adjudication hearing that is accessible to the public. The hearing will determine whether you are sanctioned, and the severity of those sanctions, after you or your attorney pleads your case.
A letter from a NDBDE representative or attorney can certainly be cause for alarm. It is best to line up professional license defense as soon as possible once you become aware that a complaint was made, so you can strategize your defense and best determine how to negotiate a lighter sanction.
The Aftermath of NDBDE Sanctions
Disciplinary actions from the State of North Dakota may have a lasting impact on your dental hygienist career, even if you are still permitted to practice. If you face harsher sanctions as a result of an unfavorable investigation, you may face these consequences:
Documentation in State Databases
In North Dakota, complaints are kept confidential but disciplinary proceedings are very public. They will be easily searchable by public record, including video of any adjudication hearings. This can make it difficult to find a new job in another state if they check for disciplinary history by other state boards.
Multi-State Licensing Complications
Even in states with severe dental hygienist shortages, you may no longer be eligible for reciprocal licenses in states that permit them due to disciplinary history. You may be unable to apply for a new dental hygienist license in another state at all.
How We Can Protect Your Dental Hygienist License
You do not want to represent yourself if your North Dakota dental hygienist license is challenged, as the NDBDE does not presume your innocence. The proceedings are also made visible to the public. Even though the Board is primarily comprised of dental professionals, they can lack proper context for your workplace, the situation, or the party that filed the complaint. You are not guaranteed justice, or even fairness, through administrative law.
Professional license defense is a highly nuanced practice area that strives to help you achieve the administrative equivalent of a lesser sentencing: lighter sanctions if we cannot get your case dismissed.
The LLF National Law Firm provides comprehensive representation at every step of the disciplinary process, from your written response to the initial complaint to representing you at your adjudication hearing if you cannot reach an agreement without a hearing.
If you are a dental hygienist in North Dakota facing a NDBDE investigation, the LLF National Law Firm is ready to advocate for you and achieve the best outcome for your case. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or reach out via our online contact form.