If you are a dentist in Portland, Maine, or its surrounding communities, you know your professional license is the foundation of your dentistry practice. You have dedicated years of your life to your education, required exams, and clinical and specialty training to create your practice.
From Freeport, Lewiston, and Yarmouth to Cape Elizabeth and Portland, your patients depend on your judgment, skill, and expertise to develop individualized treatment plans and provide much-needed preventive and restorative care, such as performing root canals, placing crowns or bridges, or fitting dental implants. If you treat pediatric patients, you are building a child’s foundational knowledge of dental health.
Given your commitment to your patients, it can be overwhelming and frustrating to learn that a professional license complaint has been made against you.
At the LLF National Law Firm, we fight on behalf of dentists in Greater Portland and across Maine. Our Professional License Defense Team can help you if you work for a large multi-location practice or in your own small office. We know that a threat to your license is a threat to your patients and your livelihood, and any accusation of misconduct against you may jeopardize your license and your ability to work at risk.
Contact the LLF National Law Firm offices at 888-535-3686 or complete our online consultation form.
Licensing and Disciplining Dentists in Portland, Maine
The Maine Board of Dental Practice (the Board) is responsible for licensing dentists and other dental health professionals throughout Maine. Committed to protecting the public health and welfare of Mainers, the Board investigates complaints against dentists and, when appropriate, disciplines dentists.
The governor appoints the nine-member Board that consists of:
- Five dentists
- Two dental hygienists
- One denturist
- One member of the public
The Board takes professional license complaints extremely seriously and publishes disciplinary actions online.
Common Allegations of Misconduct That Lead to Disciplinary Investigations
The Maine Dental Practice Act, along with other statutes and regulations, prescribes the practice of dentists in Portland, Maine. In disciplinary matters, common allegations made against dentists include:
- Behavior that is unprofessional, unethical, or otherwise fails to meet professional standards
- Problematic fee or record-keeping practices such as dividing fees for patient referrals without the patient’s knowledge, obtaining fraudulent or misleading fees, or altering a patient’s record with the intent to deceive
- Prescription-related misconduct such as prescribing narcotics to a family member or domestic partner except for ongoing dental treatment, or using, possessing, or prescribing controlled substances for anything other than dental therapeutic purposes
- Failure to maintain patient confidentiality
- Inability to provide adequate patient care or abandoning a patient before their treatment is complete
Criminal convictions, including those involving drugs and alcohol, sexual assault, violence, fraud, and theft, may also lead to license disciplinary investigations.
In Maine, any misconduct allegation should be considered a threat to your license. At the LLF National Law Firm, we protect dentists and their licenses. Regardless of the allegation, our Professional License Defense Team will stand beside you as a partner and advocate. Our experienced attorneys can develop and implement a defense strategy and help bring order to the chaos of a disciplinary hearing and sanction.
Never Ignore a Professional License Complaint
If you have discovered that a professional license complaint has been filed against you, you may feel overwhelmed, angry, or scared. It may seem easier to ignore the complaint than to figure out a path forward.
You must understand that a complaint against your license can undermine your practice and your livelihood. An allegation alone can destroy a reputation built over years of practice.
If the Board makes an adverse determination against you, it can be extremely difficult to work in your chosen profession. Disciplinary sanctions, such as having your license suspended or revoked, may end your current employment and limit future opportunities. Without a license, your financial security may be at risk.
Instead of allowing fear to dictate your response, take action. Partner with the LLF National Law Firm to challenge the accusations made against you.
If you practice in Maine, including in communities such as Portland, South Portland, Lewiston, and Auburn, we can navigate license investigations, negotiations, hearings, and sanctions to protect you.
and your best interests.
The Professional License Discipline Process in the Greater Portland Area and Across Maine
In Maine, the Board is committed to protecting Mainers against dishonest, unethical, and incompetent disciplinary actions through a disciplinary process that includes:
The Complaint
The Board accepts complaints in writing by online submission or by mail. Anyone, including patients, coworkers, colleagues, and members of the public, can file a complaint against a licensee.
After the Board receives the complaint, a copy is sent to the accused dentist. The targeted dentist must respond within 30 days. With their response, the target dentist has the opportunity to create a record in defense of their license. If you have received a complaint against your dental license, let the LLF National Law Firm help with your written response.
The accused’s response is forwarded to the complainant, and a reply is requested.
The Investigation
After collecting information from the accused dentist and the complainant, the Board forwards the materials to the complaint committee (the committee). The committee investigates and may interview the complainant, the accused dentist, or any other potential witnesses.
When the investigation is complete, the committee recommends that the Board take one of three outcomes:
- Dismissal of Complaint: If there is not enough evidence or if the Board believes no violation occurred, the complaint will be dismissed.
- Consent Agreement: A consent agreement is a negotiated settlement that generally requires an admission of responsibility by the accused dentist in return for a specific sanction. Consent orders help accused licensees avoid the uncertainty of a hearing. It can be extremely difficult for individuals who do not believe that they have committed misconduct to agree to a settlement. Always ensure that you understand the terms of any agreement before signing.
- Adjudicatory Hearing: If the accused dentist refuses to enter into a consent agreement, the Board holds a hearing pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.
The Sanctions
If, after the hearing, the Board believes that the accused was responsible for misconduct, the dentist may be sanctioned. Possible sanctions include:
- The issuance of a warning, reprimand, or censure
- Probation
- License suspension
- License revocation
- Fines
If the Board decides to suspend or revoke your license, a complaint must be filed in the Maine District Court. Only with court approval can a license be suspended or revoked.
Your education and experience are the foundation for your practice in and around Portland, Maine. Don’t challenge the Board’s accusations against you on your own. Let us help you navigate Maine’s licensee disciplinary process.
The LLF National Law Firm Helps Dentists in Greater Portland
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 your initial response to the complaint and for any interview with an investigator or testimony for a hearing. Every communication and interaction you have with the Board or the complaint committee is important. Preparation is key to presenting your testimony in a careful, intentional, and consistent manner.
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 the committee. Let the Professional License Defense Team help you ensure your statements are clear, well-reasoned, and easy for investigators and adjudicators to understand.
Investigations
Our Professional License Defense Team may investigate the claims against you and identify mitigating evidence and exonerating witnesses.
You cannot depend on the Board or the committee to find evidence to help you. Their investigators are not impartial third parties. Instead, license investigators may have their own prejudices and biases, and they may work with limited resources. To ensure every effort is made to protect you, the LLF National Law Firm can make important inquiries, review critical documents, and find and interview potential witnesses.
Negotiations and Guidance
The LLF National Law Firm can advocate for your best interests through license disciplinary proceedings. From preparing your initial response to the complaint to negotiating a consent agreement, our experienced attorneys can apply their knowledge of Maine law, regulations, rules, and procedures to challenge the accusations made against you. We can ensure that the Board meets its notice and due process requirements under the Maine Administrative Procedures Act.
Our experienced attorneys can offer you legal and practical guidance on the license disciplinary system in Maine and the possible impact of a consent agreement on your ability to practice.
Appeal Strategy
If the Board has sanctioned you, our Professional License Defense Team can review your case and identify available appeal 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 Maine’s laws, regulations, and administrative practice to advocate on your behalf during disciplinary investigations and hearings.
License Complaints Destroy Lives
To work as a dentist in Portland 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.
At the LLF National Law Firm, we understand that a single misconduct allegation can destroy your reputation and career. 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.
Additionally, dentists accused of misconduct often pay a tremendous personal cost. An investigation and hearing are adversarial and stressful, and the stigma of losing your license may be isolating. It is common for sanctioned dentists to feel alone and cut off from former coworkers, mentors, and communities. From the economic challenge of losing your income to the toll on your physical and mental health, license disciplinary investigations, hearings, and sanctions can adversely impact every corner of your life.
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 Greater Portland and throughout Maine.
Your License. Our Priority.
You are trained to serve as a dentist, providing critical health care to your patients. At the LLF National Law Firm, we are trained to help protect your license. Let our experienced professional license attorneys apply our knowledge of professional licensing law, regulation, process, and procedures to challenge any allegation that threatens your license.
You don’t have to fight the Board alone. If you are a dentist practicing in Portland or the surrounding area, we can help. The LLF National Law Firm is ready to serve as your trusted legal advisor and advocate. Our experienced Professional License Defense Team can analyze the complaint, prepare a comprehensive license defense strategy, and represent you in negotiations with the Board to further your priorities and best interests. Our attorneys help dentists in Portland and surrounding communities challenge complaints and navigate license investigations, hearings, and sanctions.
The LLF National Law Firm is a leader in professional license defense, committed to protecting our clients. If you are a dentist in the Greater Portland area and you are accused of misconduct, your first call should be to our Professional License Defense Team.
To discuss your case with our experienced attorneys, contact the LLF National Law Firm offices at 888-535-3686 or complete a confidential online consultation form.