Your Oregon dental hygienist practice provides you with a great range of benefits, from the respect due a skilled professional, supportive network of colleagues, and appreciative patients to the schedule, purpose, and income. You earned those benefits with the education you completed, the exam you passed, and the diligent work you put in. Oregon’s fine towns and scenery, strong economy, and vital healthcare system give you a substantial degree of assurance and security. Yet if the Oregon Board of Dentistry suspends or revokes your dental hygienist license, you could lose everything, including your reputation, relationships, and employment. Get the help you need. Retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team to defend your Oregon Board of Dentistry disciplinary charges. Our skilled and experienced attorneys are available in Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro, Bend, Beaverton, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, Auburn, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Grants Pass, Aloha, and across the rest of Oregon. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for the strategic and effective representation you need to protect your Oregon dental hygienist license and practice.
Oregon Dental Hygienist License Requirement
Your Oregon Board of Dentistry dental hygiene license enables you to work as a dental hygienist in the state. Without your license, you would not have dental hygiene employment. Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 680.020 requires any dental hygienist intending to practice in the state to first obtain a license from the Oregon Board of Dentistry. Section 680.020 declares that “it is unlawful” to practice without that license. The Act’s Section 680.990 makes it a Class C criminal misdemeanor to practice dental hygiene without a Board of Dentistry license. Oregon punishes Class C misdemeanors with a fine up to $1,250 and jail up to thirty days. The Act’s Section 679.027 also authorizes the Board of Dentistry to obtain a court injunction against unlicensed practice. You must not practice dental hygiene without your license. Get our help defending that license.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Licensing Authority
The Oregon Board of Dentistry has the full authority under Oregon Dental Practice Act 679.250 to license, regulate, and discipline dental hygienists. The Act’s Section 679.230 creates the Board of Dentistry not only with dentist members but also with dental hygiene members. The Board of Dentistry is your board as a dental hygienist and your supervising dentist’s board. The Act’s Section 680.040 states the qualifications you must prove to the Board for your dental hygiene license, including education and examination. The Act’s Section 680.050 details the application process, including the Board’s authority to refuse you a license, refuse to renew your license, or discipline your license for criminal convictions, discipline in another state, or credential fraud. Respect the authority of the Oregon Board of Dentistry. Let our attorneys help you satisfy the Board that you continue to meet its licensing requirements.
Oregon Dental Hygienist License Discipline
The Oregon Board of Dentistry also has the authority to suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline your hygienist license. Getting your license is only the start. You must then continue to comply with the Board of Dentistry rules to retain your license. Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 680.100 authorizes the Board of Dentistry to discipline a dental hygienist on any of the grounds, and under any of the procedures, applicable to its discipline of dentists. The Act’s Section 679.140 states the disciplinary grounds and procedures. The same statute sets forth the available sanctions, including license suspension, revocation, limitation, refusal to renew, resignation, civil penalty, reprimand, assessment of costs, and any other penalty the Board of Dentistry determines to be appropriate. Beware of discipline and its impact on your dental hygiene practice. Any discipline could result in a loss of reputation, patients, and employment. Let us help you defend your Board of Dentistry disciplinary charges.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Misconduct
Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 679.140 lists thirteen grounds on which the Oregon Board of Dentistry may discipline your dental hygienist license. Those grounds state the common violations hygienists commit in the course of practice. While the thirteen violations are the specific grounds on which the Board has express statutory authority to discipline, some grounds are broad enough to implicate a very wide range of misbehaviors. The listed grounds include:
- conviction for any crime that would demonstrate to the Board of Dentistry that you are unfit for dental hygiene practice:
- using another dental hygienist’s license or degree as if it were your own license or degree;
- any form of unprofessional conduct that the Board of Dentistry determines violates its standards;
- violating any provision of the Board of Dentistry rules and standards for dental hygienists;
- engaging in or permitting any unacceptable patient care due to deliberate or negligent acts or omissions, with or without patient injury;
- incapacity to practice safely;
- obtaining any fee by fraud or misrepresentation;
- willfully betraying a patient’s confidence;
- aiding or abetting unlicensed dental hygiene or dental practice;
- making false, misleading, or deceptive statements in advertising;
- physical or mental impairment affecting the ability to practice dental hygiene with reasonable skill and safety;
- obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance in an unauthorized manner or for unauthorized use;
- prescribing or dispensing drugs outside the scope of dental or dental hygiene practice;
- disciplinary action by a board of dentistry or other licensing authority in another state or jurisdiction that would warrant discipline by the Oregon Board of Dentistry if occurring in this state.
Any of the above disciplinary charges may be daunting and discouraging. But don’t ignore or minimize your need to deal promptly and responsibly with the charges. Also, do not admit to the charges without first consulting with our attorneys. While you may have committed some or all of the alleged violations, your violations may not warrant the discipline that the Board of Dentistry proposes. Let us help you evaluate and answer the charges, raising your available defenses. Even if you are responsible for some or all alleged violations, we may be able to obtain a prompt dismissal of the charges in favor of remedial relief that you can readily complete or have already completed.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Complaints
The identity, role, and qualifications of the individual who makes a complaint about your dental hygiene practice can affect whether your matter proceeds to an investigation, formal disciplinary charge, and sanction. Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 679.140 authorizes the Board of Dentistry to receive complaints for investigation. The Act’s Section 679.250 permits the Board of Dentistry to proceed against a dental hygienist on a complaint by any member of a healthcare profession or the public. The statute permits the Board to withhold the complainant’s name from the accused hygienist. Section 679.250 also permits Board of Dentistry members to make their own complaint to initiate a proceeding, which would be the case if the Board learns of a suspected violation from another public official or the media. Complaints by patients and their family members are common, as are complaints by colleagues, supervisors, and employer representatives. Complaints by supervising dentists, dental hygienist co-workers, and employer representatives may carry greater weight given the complainants’ knowledge of dental hygiene practices and standards, and their ability to observe your conduct. Get our help as soon as you learn of a complaint or anticipated complaint so that we can preserve evidence and potentially share exonerating and mitigating evidence with involved parties.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Investigation
Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 679.140 authorizes the Board of Dentistry to investigate complaints against dental hygienists under the procedures of Oregon Statutes Section 676.165. Section 676.165 authorizes the Board of Dentistry to assign an investigator to any complaint having arguable merit. The investigator has the power to collect documents and interview witnesses, and the responsibility to prepare a report for the Board of Dentistry to determine whether to proceed with formal disciplinary charges. The report is due to the Board within 120 days of assignment.
Response to Oregon Dental Hygienist Investigation
Your best move is to immediately retain us when learning of an Oregon Board of Dentistry investigation. You may learn of your investigation from the investigator’s request for an interview or documents, or from colleagues, supervisors, or employer representatives whom the investigator has already interviewed. Investigators commonly gather all information before interviewing the accused dental hygienist so that the investigator knows more about the matter than you do. While you have a duty to cooperate with the investigation, do not submit to an interview immediately on request when you have not reviewed your documentation, learned the nature of the issue, and had time to ensure that you are aware of all relevant circumstances. The investigator and Board of Dentistry may use your errors, omissions, inaccuracies, and contradictions against you, even charging you with obstructing the investigation. Let us help you prepare for your interview while fulfilling your duty to cooperate.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Hearing
Oregon Dental Practice Act Section 679.250 states the administrative hearing requirements the Board of Dentistry must follow when deciding your disciplinary charges. Section 679.250 expressly incorporates Oregon’s Administrative Procedures Act governing contested administrative agency cases. Section 679.250 assures you of your right to a hearing after fair notice of the charges, and also grants you the right to have counsel attend and conduct your defense. The Administrative Procedures Act provides other protections ensuring the fair conduct of your hearing.
Defending Oregon Dental Hygienist Charges
Beware of retaining unqualified local criminal defense counsel to represent you at your Oregon Board of Dentistry disciplinary hearing. Administrative Procedures Act hearings differ from criminal court hearings, with different laws, rules, and procedures. Our attorneys have substantial administrative law knowledge and experience that you need for your best hearing outcome. We can ensure that your defense witnesses attend and can conduct both their direct examination and the cross-examination of adverse witnesses. We can also help you gather and present your documentary evidence. Even before the hearing, we may be able to arrange a conciliation conference at which to present remedial measures in lieu of punitive sanctions.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Post-Hearing Relief
The Oregon Administrative Procedure Act, referred to and incorporated by Dental Practice Act Section 679.250 as discussed above, offers post-hearing relief in the form of administrative appeals and civil court review. If you have already lost your disciplinary hearing, our attorneys can prepare and pursue your administrative appeal, obtain and review the hearing transcript, draft and file the appeal brief, and attend the oral argument or appeal hearing. We can also seek civil court review if you have already lost your administrative appeal. Don’t give up. Let us exhaust all avenues for relief until we obtain your best disciplinary outcome.
Mitigating Oregon Dental Hygienist Sanctions
As mentioned briefly above, we may be able to put on a defense in mitigation of any punitive sanctions, even if you must admit to the violations that the Oregon Board of Dentistry alleges. A case in mitigation shows the Board of Dentistry that you have rehabilitated your character and fitness, corrected the condition that led to your wrong, and are safe, skilled, and fit for dental hygiene practice.
Oregon Dental Hygienist Disciplinary Impacts
Discipline against your license can have broad collateral consequences. You could lose your dental hygienist employment and income, as well as your professional reputation and relationships. Keep these and the other collateral consequences in mind when deciding how to proceed. Let us help you defend and defeat your Oregon Board of Dentistry disciplinary charges.
Premier Oregon Dental Hygienist License Defense
If you face Oregon Board of Dentistry disciplinary charges, retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team for the skilled and experienced defense representation you need. We help hundreds of dental hygienists and other health professionals successfully defend license disciplinary charges in Oregon and nationwide. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now.