If you are a dentist in Tucson, Arizona, or its surrounding communities, you know your professional license is the foundation of your dentistry practice. You have studied, passed the required exams, trained in your specialty, and built your practice.
You know that dental health is an essential part of overall wellness, and you understand your responsibilities to your patients and your community. Whether you are providing preventive care, developing individualized treatment plans, or providing restorative care, including performing root canals, placing crowns or bridges, or fitting dental implants, your patients need you and the healthcare you provide. If you provide pediatric dentistry care, you are building a child’s foundational knowledge of oral health. For adult patients, you may be providing critical assistance that improves and maintains their quality of life.
Given your commitment to your patients, it can be devastating to learn that a professional license complaint has been made against you. And any threat to your license is a threat to your patients and your livelihood.
In Arizona, license disciplinary investigations and hearings can be long and arduous. Any accusation of misconduct against your license puts your ability to work at risk. Each step requires thoughtful attention because a missed deadline or careless statement puts your practice and your future at risk.
Don’t navigate the professional license disciplinary investigation or hearing alone. At the LLF National law Firm, our experienced professional license defense attorneys challenge misconduct allegations made against dentists in the Greater Tucson area and across the United States. Contact our Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or schedule a consultation online.
Licensing and Disciplining Dentists in Tucson, Arizona
The Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners (the Board) is responsible for the examination and licensing of dentists throughout Arizona, including those practicing in the Tucson area, including Oro Valley and Marana in Pima County and San Felipe in Santa Cruz County. Additionally, the Board oversees the complaint adjudication and enforcement processes and protects the health and safety of Arizona’s citizens.
The Board’s members are appointed by the governor and include:
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Six dentists
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Two dental hygienists
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Two members of the public
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One business entity member
The Board is responsible for over 10,500 licensed dentists and dental professionals in Arizona.
Common Allegations of Misconduct That Lead to Disciplinary Investigations Against Dentists
Dentists in Arizona often face professional disciplinary investigations and hearings when dentists are accused of violating the Dental Practice Act and Board rules. Often, these accusations involve:
Unprofessional Conduct
Many disciplinary complaints made against dentists involve allegations of unprofessional conduct. In Arizona, unprofessional conduct includes fraud, making a false or fraudulent statement in connection with practicing dentistry, obtaining a fee by fraud or misrepresentation, or repeatedly committing billing irregularities.
A dentist may be accused of unprofessional conduct if their use of alcohol or other controlled substances impacts their ability to practice dentistry.
Physical or Mental Incompetence
Allegations that a dentist is not able to practice dentistry in a professional manner may result in a license disciplinary investigation.
Criminal Offenses
Being convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving a moral turpitude can be grounds for license disciplinary action.
Unethical Conduct
Unethical conduct is broadly defined and includes:
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Failing to report that a dental professional may be incompetent, guilty of unprofessional conduct, or impaired by drugs or alcohol
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Failing to provide patient records
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Obtaining a fee by fraud or misrepresentation
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Engaging in fraudulent or deceptive advertising practices
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Engaging in any practice that constitutes a danger to the health, welfare, and safety of a patient or the public
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Failing to comply with a final order, censure decree, consent agreement, stipulation, or period or term of probation from the Board
For a dentist, a complaint against your license can jeopardize your livelihood. You may feel overwhelmed, angry, or scared. It may seem easier to ignore the complaint.
Don’t let fear control you or your response to a disciplinary complaint. Instead, take action. When you partner with the experienced license defense attorneys at the LLF National Law Firm, we can help bring clarity to the complexities and uncertainties of the disciplinary process. Let the Professional License Defense Team advocate on your behalf and fight to protect your dentistry license.
If you practice in the southern Arizona communities, including Tucson, Nogales, Sierra Vista, Green Valley, Sahuarita, and Bisbee, we can help you challenge any professional license complaint and navigate license investigations, hearings, and sanctions. With your license and livelihood on the line, you need the LLF National Law Firm to challenge allegations made against you.
The Professional License Discipline Process in Tucson and Across Arizona
In Arizona, the Board and its staff investigate and adjudicate disciplinary actions through a process that includes:
Complaint
Professional license disciplinary matters usually begin with a complaint. Complaints may be filed by anyone; however, complaints are most commonly filed by patients, the family members of patients, colleagues, or coworkers. There is a four-year statute of limitations on filing a professional license complaint.
In Arizona, complaints may be submitted by mail, email, or through the Board’s online complaint form. The Board reviews complaints to ensure the subject matter falls within its authority. Any complaint that involves conduct outside of the Board’s scope is dismissed.
Investigation
The Board assigned an investigator to make an inquiry into the complaint. The investigator may speak to or request a formal response from the accused dentist, interview potential witnesses, and issue subpoenas. The results of the investigation are presented to the Board’s Internal Investigative Review Committee (IIRC).
If the IIRC believes there is probable cause to discipline the accused dentist, its recommendation is forwarded to the Board.
Consent Agreement
Many dentists accused of misconduct are eager to avoid a hearing and wish to negotiate a consent agreement with the Board. A consent agreement is a settlement that allows the accused to avoid a formal disciplinary hearing by admitting misconduct and agreeing to a sanction.
Our Professional License Defense Team understands that many accused licensees want a fast and favorable resolution. We know that a consent agreement often requires significant concessions from the accused dentist. A licensee must be fully aware of all terms of the consent agreement, particularly those that restrict their practice. Importantly, the failure to comply with a consent agreement is considered unethical conduct and can lead to sanctions.
The LLF National Law Firm believes in approaching all negotiations with a clear understanding of our client’s priorities. If a consent agreement is in your best interests, our attorneys can work to resolve a disciplinary complaint through a settlement and advocate for you during all negotiations.
The Hearing
If a consent agreement cannot be negotiated between the accused dentist and the Board, a hearing or adjudication is held at the Board’s public, bi-monthly meeting. You will have the opportunity to appear and challenge the allegations against you. At the end of the adjudication, the Board will vote to impose disciplinary sanctions or to dismiss the complaint.
Sanctions
In Arizona, the Board has the authority to issue wide-ranging sanctions to a dentist found to have committed misconduct. Possible sanctions include the issuance of a letter of concern or reprimand, imposition of fines, and license limitation or suspension. As you know, even lesser penalties can adversely impact your reputation, practice, and livelihood.
Additionally, the Board reports disciplinary actions to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The NPDB collects information on medical professionals, including dentists, which is made available to potential employers and other state licensing boards. A sanction in Arizona could make practicing in other states more difficult.
Your education and experience are the foundation for your practice. As a dentist, you are trained to provide care for patients, not navigate the complexities of the professional license disciplinary process in Tucson. At the LLF National Law Firm, we can navigate license disciplinary proceedings on your behalf so that you can concentrate on your patients and your career.
The LLF National Law Firm Helps Dentists in the Tucson Area
If you face a license disciplinary investigation or hearing, our experienced Professional License Defense Team can review the complaint against you and develop a comprehensive license defense strategy, which may include:
Interview or Testimony Preparation
The LLF National Law Firm Team can help you prepare for any interview with an investigator or testimony for a hearing. Every interaction you have with the Board or its representatives should be approached carefully and with intention. A careless statement could be used as an admission of guilt or responsibility. Your imprecise statement could be twisted to demonstrate your culpability.
Careful preparation is critical to advocating on behalf of yourself and your license. We can work together in anticipation of any interaction between you and the Board or its representatives. Thoughtful preparation is a critical element of a license defense strategy. Let us help you ensure your statements are clear, well-reasoned, and easy for investigators and adjudicators to understand.
Investigations
Our Professional License Defense Team can investigate the claims against you and identify mitigating evidence and exonerating witnesses.
Investigators are not impartial third parties with unlimited resources. They have their own prejudices and biases. They may work with limited resources. Even a fair investigator can misinterpret essential evidence, fail to identify important mitigating facts or witnesses, and end their inquiry too soon.
Advocacy and Guidance
The LLF National Law Firm can advocate for your best interests through license disciplinary proceedings. From negotiating a consent agreement to representing you during a hearing, our experienced attorneys can apply their knowledge of Arizona law, regulations, and rules of procedure to challenge the accusations made against you.
Our experienced attorneys can offer you legal and practical guidance on the license disciplinary system in Arizona, the possible impact of different types of sanctions on your practice, and the risks and benefits of accepting a consent agreement.
With our team navigating Arizona’s disciplinary procedures, you can remain focused on your dental practice, your patients and their needs, and your future.
Appeals
If the Board has sanctioned you, our experienced Professional License Defense Team can review your case and offer guidance on available appeal or license reinstatement strategies.
Appeals usually involve strict deadlines. The sooner you contact the LLF National Law Firm, the sooner we can start working for you.
Partner with our Professional License Defense Team and let our experienced attorneys serve as your legal advisors, applying our knowledge of Arizona’s laws, regulations, and administrative practice to advocate on your behalf during disciplinary investigations and hearings.
To work as a dentist in Tucson or the surrounding communities, you need a license. An adverse disciplinary decision or sanction may jeopardize your license and end your career. Without a license, you cannot work in your chosen profession, and your financial security may be at risk.
An allegation of misconduct alone can destroy an otherwise spotless reputation. The high stakes and public nature of the disciplinary adjudication process can be devastating for an accused licensee. As a result, too many licensed professionals discover that a disciplinary investigation leads to isolation and estrangement from mentors, colleagues, friends, and family members.
At the LLF National Law Firm, our attorneys strive to protect dentists and their licensees. We know that your community and patients depend on your care, and we will help you navigate the professional license disciplinary system in Tucson, Arizona.
Let the LLF National Law Firm Defend Your License in Greater Tucson
You don’t have to navigate an investigation or hearing alone. If you practice in Tucson, Arizona, the LLF National Law Firm can help. Your professional dentistry license is our priority.
Don’t let a complaint against your license derail your career and undermine your life. If you discover that a professional misconduct complaint has been filed against you, make our Professional License Defense Team your first call. Let our experienced attorneys review your case, identify your available options, and develop a comprehensive response to any allegation against you. Our attorneys help dentists in Tucson, Nogales, Sierra Vista, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Bisbee, and surrounding communities challenge complaints and navigate license investigations, hearings, and sanctions.
It is never too late to call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. To partner with our experienced attorneys, contact our offices at 888-535-3686 or online.