You’ve spent years in college and dental school, plus time spent in a residency, just to get to where you are today as a practicing dentist in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Your dental license is the key to your practice and to your livelihood. Whether you practice in and around Jacksonville or in a nearby town such as St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Palatka, or across the Georgia state line in Kingsland, your license is important to you.
That is why you need to take swift and effective steps to protect your rights and defend yourself if someone has accused you of misconduct. When the Florida or Georgia Board of Dentistry notifies you that a complaint has been made against you, that is the time to get help. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is here for you. Our experienced attorneys are ready from day one to learn about your case and act as your counsel through what can be a very stressful period. Call us at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation to go over your case and explain how we can help.
Dentists in the Jacksonville Area
There are hundreds of dentists working in the Jacksonville area, and if you are one of them, you probably already know the benefits as well as the challenges of living and working in that part of northeastern Florida or southeastern Georgia. You may also be benefiting from the fact that dentistry is historically a well-paying profession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dentists in Jacksonville earn roughly three times the average annual wage for all professions that the BLS tracks in that area.
The benefits of a well-paying career are obvious. But the flip side is when the ability to make that level of pay is challenged – in particular by having your dental license suspended or revoked – it can be extremely difficult to find a position that will replace all of that high income. This makes sanctions like license suspension or revocation even more devastating.
Not every dentist disciplined by either the Florida or Georgia Board of Dentistry is suspended or has their license revoked, of course. There are other sanctions that can be issued that will allow the dentist to continue to practice dentistry. But if those sanctions are public, they will remain part of the dentist’s record, available for anybody to review by way of the license search webpages offered by the states of Florida and Georgia. This allows potential and existing patients to see any sanctions that have been issued against you, and to make a decision in light of whatever sanction is listed, whether to trust you with their dental care.
This is why you need to take it seriously, even if you don’t believe the misconduct you’re accused of was very serious. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team understands this. We fight for the rights of professional license holders facing these kinds of situations all across the country. Our attorneys have experience collecting the information and evidence necessary to help our clients protect their dental licenses, and we know the arguments that will resonate with licensing boards. And one other benefit of working with us is that we can take much of the day-to-day burden of being the focus of an investigation and disciplinary proceeding off your shoulders so you can focus on your patients and your practice.
Disciplinary Actions Against Dentists in the Jacksonville Area
Whether your dental practice is in Jacksonville or in a nearby town such as Green Cove Springs, Middleburg, Yulee, or Jacksonville Beach, anybody can accuse you of misconduct. Both the Florida and Georgia Boards of Dentistry maintain or link to webpages where the public can access complaint forms and file them against any dentist, whether or not that dentist has actually treated them. These complaints will then be reviewed by the board to determine whether they should be investigated for potential disciplinary action against the accused dentist.
Not every complaint will move forward. That is because the types of misconduct that each board of dentistry can discipline a dentist for are limited. When a complaint alleges something that the board does not regulate, it will typically dismiss the complaint. For example, complaints that office staff were rude to a patient will usually not go further, because rudeness (or politeness) is not something that the dental boards regulate. Similarly, ordinary billing disputes that don’t involve allegations of fraud will not usually move forward, because those are not issues that the board has the jurisdiction to resolve.
The types of misconduct that will typically lead to an investigation and possible discipline include:
-
Practicing dentistry while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
-
Improperly prescribing medications, particularly pain medications
-
Making false statements on a license application or renewal
-
Failing to follow proper sanitary or safety guidelines, including radiation safety requirements
-
Being convicted of a serious crime or one that is directly related to the practice of dentistry
-
Having sexual contact with patients, whether consensual or not
-
Repeated instances of malpractice
-
Failing to properly supervise others who are assisting with the dentist’s practice
-
Engaging in insurance or Medicare/Medicaid fraud
Complaints will be reviewed by the state agency responsible for reviewing them. Where the complaint appears to allege misconduct that the Board of Dentistry regulates, it will typically be assigned to an investigator. The investigator will be responsible for gathering information relevant to the allegations made in the complaint. This will almost always involve an interview with the accused dentist, but can also involve interviews with others, such as the person who filed the complaint, colleagues of the accused dentist, and others who may have relevant information.
In some cases, you may have the chance to provide a written response to the complaint. This can be an excellent opportunity to frame your defense as well as to provide the investigator and the board with information showing that the complaint should be dismissed. When you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, we can help you carefully review the facts related to the allegations made against you and then prepare a comprehensive and effective response to those allegations.
At the close of the investigation, the information collected will be provided to the board, or more precisely in Florida, to the Department of Health’s Prosecution Services Unit. The PSU will review the information to determine whether there is probable cause to move forward against the dentist. Sometimes, when the evidence does not support further disciplinary action, the PSU will dismiss the complaint.
If the PSU (in Florida) or the dental board (in Georgia) decides to move forward with disciplinary allegations, it may issue a formal complaint that can be resolved in a number of ways. The most typical way to resolve these is through negotiation, with the goal being a settlement agreement that both the dentist and the dental authorities agree on. This has the benefit of certainty, versus moving forward with a formal hearing.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team regularly negotiates settlement agreements in these kinds of cases. We know the issues that are important to licensing boards, including dental boards, and will work to come to an agreement that will protect our clients’ ability to practice dentistry while minimizing the impact it has on their future.
Help During Disciplinary Investigations
One of the most stressful parts of the investigation is the interview that is almost certain to take place with the investigator. Most of us are not used to having to sit across the table from someone who is asking us questions to gather information that could be used against us. It’s stressful, and the question-and-answer process is not a natural one. We can help you with that.
In many cases, we will work with the dentist to go over the types of questions that they can expect to hear at their interview. We can even go through the process so that the dentist can practice listening to the question, making sure they understand what they’re being asked, then formulating a response, and only after all of that, providing the answer. We can also practice asking the interviewer questions – usually in an attempt to clarify a question that is not clear.
As your attorneys, we can also be there with you when you’re interviewed, to act as sort of backup. We will make sure the interviewer is asking fair and clear questions. We can also help if you happen to forget something that is responsive to a question, especially if that information could help your defense.
Another aspect of many investigations is information-gathering. You may be asked for patient records as well as for emails, phone records, and online messages that the investigator believes may relate to the allegations you’re facing. We can review these requests and protect your rights where they go too far. We can also gather the information so that you don’t have to, and then we can review it with you so you know exactly what is being given to the investigator. This allows you to spend more time on your practice and your personal life.
After the Investigation
Once the investigation is complete, a decision will be made about whether to move forward with formal allegations against you. This, as noted above, is when many cases are resolved by negotiation. Alternatively, you could choose to simply accept the proposed sanctions and not negotiate the terms. Even if you decide to take this route, it can be useful to consider whether a negotiated solution with a more favorable outcome is possible.
If the case does not resolve itself with a settlement or acceptance of the proposed terms, it will proceed to a formal hearing. In Florida, this will be before an administrative law judge; in Georgia, it will be before the Board of Dentistry. The hearing will be similar to a court proceeding, except that it may take some time before the outcome is released.
Potential Outcomes
Dental licensing boards in Florida and Georgia have discretion to impose a wide range of sanctions against dentists found to have committed misconduct. In cases that do not resolve in the dentist’s favor, these sanctions can include:
-
Requirement for additional training
-
Probation, often with training or supervision requirements
-
Practice restrictions
-
Suspension, often with training or other requirements that the dentist must meet before the suspension will be lifted
-
Revocation of the license
Public sanctions become part of your public record, so there is a strong incentive to defend against misconduct allegations and minimize any sanctions that could result.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Defend Your Dental License in the Jacksonville Area
You have worked very hard to secure your dental license and build your practice. You owe it to yourself and your future to fight to protect it if someone has accused you of misconduct. The best way to do that is to work with an attorney who regularly helps other license holders defend themselves in similar situations. At the LLF National Law Firm, our Professional License Defense Team is devoted to that goal.
We know the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply in dental disciplinary cases in both Florida and Georgia. We help professional clients, including dentists, all across the country who are facing misconduct allegations. We know how vital your license is to your practice and your livelihood, and we are ready to fight to protect your rights and to defend you against the misconduct allegations you’re facing.
Don’t delay – call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form. Let us schedule a confidential consultation where you can tell us about the allegations made against you, and we can explain how we will help defend your dental license.