As a dentist in the Des Moines area, you’ve put years of effort—and a major financial investment—into earning your Iowa license, and you deserve to reap the rewards while caring for local patients. But if someone files a complaint with the Iowa Dental Board, the consequences can be much more serious than you may believe. Even for a first-time offense with no prior disciplinary action, a serious accusation of misconduct that you don’t defend against may lead to the suspension or revocation of your Iowa dental license.
The LLF National Law Firm provides experienced license defense for dentists in Des Moines, Ames, and throughout central Iowa. Call our Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or contact us through our website to begin protecting your Iowa dental license.
Iowa Dental Board Licensing Authority
The Iowa Dental Board, under the Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing, regulates the practice of dentistry in Iowa to ensure all patients in the state have access to safe, high-quality dental care. In addition to setting standards and reviewing the competency of prospective dental license holders through license applications, the Board also has the power to investigate complaints and take disciplinary action against a dentist’s license for violations of Iowa’s Dental Practice Act.
The key point to remember is that just because you obtained your Iowa dental license and strive to follow the rules, it doesn’t mean your license and career are safe. The Iowa Dental Board’s oversight is ongoing, and anything worrying that comes across its desk may trigger an investigation into your practice. The LLF National Law Firm is here to help when something goes wrong, so get in touch with our Professional License Defense Team as soon as you receive any mail or outreach from the Iowa Dental Board.
Iowa Dentist Misconduct and License Sanctions
Members of the public can allege nearly anything against you at any time, kickstarting an investigation that may impact your dental license and career in Des Moines. The Board can investigate and potentially sanction your Iowa dental license for many acts that place patients at risk or reflect poorly upon the profession of dentistry in the state, including:
- Committing willful and gross malpractice or gross neglect, such as departing from accepted standards of dentistry in Iowa.
- Providing false or incomplete information in a dental license application or renewal with the Iowa Dental Board.
- Misrepresenting your qualifications or experience in marketing or professional communications.
- Receiving disciplinary action against your dental license in another jurisdiction.
- Engaging in gross immorality or unprofessional conduct while practicing dentistry.
- Failing to properly supervise anyone working under you, such as assistants or dental hygienists.
- Being convicted of certain felonies or misdemeanors.
- Practicing while impaired by a mental or physical condition that affects your ability to care for patients safely, including excessive use of drugs or alcohol.
- Failing to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Iowa Dental Board following complaints.
- Engaging in sexual misconduct with patients.
- Violating any of Iowa’s dental regulatory requirements, including recordkeeping failures and compliance issues.
Some allegations of misconduct or unprofessional behavior are worse than others, but all carry some level of risk. The ideal scenario when someone files a complaint against you is a full defense that leads to the dismissal of your case. If the Iowa Dental Board investigates and finds you violated the state’s rules or standards, potential dental license sanctions include:
- Board citation and warning
- Civil penalties and fines, which may lead to further discipline if not paid
- Additional professional training, education, or reexamination requirements
- Probation with Board-mandated conditions for reinstatement
- Revocation or suspension of your dental license
The Board can impose any combination of sanctions, meaning you may need to pay fines and take educational classes, all while being unable to return to your practice. Sanctions that disrupt your career and make it difficult to maintain your reputation should be avoided at all costs, and the LLF National Law Firm wants to help. Our Professional License Defense Team can help you confront and respond to serious accusations of wrongdoing or misconduct and get back to work in Des Moines.
Dental License Disciplinary Cases for Des Moines and Ames Dentists
Your Iowa dental license is the culmination of years of hard work and personal dedication. Complaints against you filed with the Iowa Dental Board are a tremendous risk to your career and reputation in Des Moines, and you should work just as hard to protect your license as you did to obtain it. The LLF National Law Firm can work with you from the beginning of your Iowa Dental Board disciplinary case and help minimize license risks.
Complaints and Initial Review
The Iowa Dental Board receives complaints from multiple sources, including patients, family members, other dentists who observed concerning conduct, and insurance companies. However, anyone can file a complaint through the Board’s website or by directly contacting Iowa’s Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing.
Board staff intake complaints and open a preliminary investigative file. Sometimes, an initial review leads Board staff to immediately assign an investigator, while other complaints are deprioritized. The Board may dismiss frivolous allegations at this stage, but the threshold for opening investigations remains low. Generally, Board staff can forward a case along if they determine that the complaint against you, if true, might constitute a violation of Iowa dental law.
Investigation and Probable Cause Determination
The purpose of an investigation is to help the Board decide whether there is a violation of Iowa law by building a file containing relevant evidence about your conduct. Investigators often request and gather patient records, interview the parties involved, including you and the complainant, and review your disciplinary history.
Once the investigator collects evidence, they write a report summarizing the investigation’s findings and send it to the Board. The Board’s job is to review the evidence and decide whether there is probable cause to discipline you and your Iowa dental license. This probable cause determination has a much lower standard of evidence than high bars like “beyond a reasonable doubt” that you know from criminal trials.
The best-case scenario is that the Board dismisses the complaint against you and closes your case without any discipline. The Board can also close your case without discipline while issuing a Letter of Warning or a Letter of Education, a confidential note detailing the Board’s concerns.
In certain cases, the Board may determine that it needs more information, in which case they will send the case back to an investigator, seek an expert opinion, or order you to sit for a confidential evaluation. Otherwise, the last possible outcome is public action against your license, which will detail the charges and provide you with information about your upcoming hearing. Investigations are confidential, but charges are public and may lead to patients and others in the Des Moines metro area learning about the complaint against you.
Investigations into your conduct and practice may last for months. During that time, you are expected to comply with requests and orders for evaluations. However, providing documentation or responses to questions without planning your long-term defense is a risky move. The LLF National Law Firm can help you avoid common mistakes, correct factual misunderstandings, and potentially convince the Board to close the investigation without proceeding to formal discipline.
Settlement Negotiations and Informal Resolution
Not every case that proceeds past the probable cause stage results in a contested hearing in Iowa. In fact, the Iowa Dental Board will make a settlement offer in most cases, which will end your case before the date of your hearing. Our Professional License Defense Team can reach out on your behalf and initiate settlement discussions immediately following your public charges.
Settlement agreements typically include stipulations regarding dental violations you admit to, sanctions the Board will impose, and any requirements for continuing education or probation. This is all by agreement, as you and the Board must come together to find a solution. In most cases, informal resolution can resolve cases more quickly than contested hearings, lessen Board sanctions, and help you move forward with your career more quickly.
However, settlement agreements create the same public record as an outcome from a formal hearing, with the same real-world consequences. If you rush into negotiations and agree with the first Board proposal, you may still face severe sanctions and career disruptions. The LLF National Law Firm has many years of experience negotiating with the Iowa Dental Board and will fight for the best possible informal, early resolution to your dental license concern.
Formal Hearing
If your case does not settle, the next step is a hearing. Contested case hearings before the Iowa Dental Board are formal proceedings that operate similarly to court trials. On behalf of the state, the Assistant Attorney General bears the burden of proving violations by a preponderance of the evidence. Both sides present evidence, call witnesses, and make arguments to convince the Board of their side of the story.
Iowa law allows you to choose whether your hearing will be open to the public or closed. But even if you choose a closed hearing to minimize publicity, the Board’s final order will still become public. The LLF National Law Firm can represent you during formal proceedings to protect your career and license from further harm.
Once the Board hears the evidence, it will issue its order, which may include sanctions against your dental license. Iowa allows you to appeal the Board decision, first by appealing to the Board directly, and then by appealing to the district court. Appeals do not grant you stays of discipline, so your license will remain suspended throughout the appeals process.
The Iowa Dental Board allows and encourages dentists to work with attorneys to support their legal arguments and protect their rights. When your dental license is at risk, make use of every opportunity you have and get in touch with the LLF National Law Firm. Our Professional License Defense Team understands what’s at stake, and we will do everything we can to keep your dental license free of sanctions. Even if you have already received an adverse outcome, we can work with you to appeal and potentially reduce or eliminate the sanctions you face.
Des Moines and Central Iowa Dentist License Defense
Some of the most significant damage to Des Moines dentists’ careers often occurs outside the Iowa Dental Board’s formal process. Investigations into your conduct can interrupt your practice in ways patients actually feel, harming your business and damaging the close relationships you rely on. And once the matter becomes public—through public charges or formal license discipline posted on the Board’s website—it’s even harder to keep every aspect related to your practice and career running as smoothly as it once did.
When someone is making decisions about who to hire at a large employer like Primary Health Care, license restrictions place you at a disadvantage. The Iowa Dental Board reports Board actions to the National Practitioner Data Bank, a resource that makes it even easier for potential employers to review your history and make a determination about your perceived fitness to practice dentistry at their healthcare facility.
And remember that even if you live in Des Moines now, your Iowa dental license and its disciplinary history follow you throughout the state, to places like Waukee or Ankeny. Iowa patients and employers, no matter where they live, have the same access to your history and will make decisions based on that information.
Keeping your Iowa dental license free of sanctions is the simplest and most effective way to keep your career in the Des Moines metro area safe from harm. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or fill out our confidential online form to get started. Our Professional License Defense Team can assist you in building a defense from the moment you learn of a complaint against you or an investigation by Board staff.