20 Houston-area dentists disciplined in the last year
Since November, several Houston-area dentists have been disciplined by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. (Read past the jump for details.)
Allegations leading to discipline have ranged from several dentists prescribing narcotics for their own use, a Kingwood dentist’s lax supervision of a nurse anesthetist resulting in an anesthesia overdose that contributed to a patient’s death, making videos of sedated patients without their consent and inappropriately overbilling Medicaid.
Last fiscal year (September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010), the Dental Board disciplined 85 dental professionals statewide — mostly dentists, along with a few dental hygienists and dental assistants. The agency also monitors dental laboratories.
The Texas Medical Board offers a summary of the reasons why each physician or medical professional has been sanctioned. The agency regulating dental professionals simply lists “yes” or “no” on a licensee’s record to denote whether there have been any disciplinary actions.
To check your dental professionals, start here. If there’s a yes, =”http://www.tsbde.state.tx.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=64″>here for information about how to request a dental professional’s disciplinary record.
According to the agency’s strategic plan, published in June, the board has engaged a company to scan board orders and “make them available online through the SBDE website at no cost to the public” but no timetable was mentioned.
To find out which dental professionals have been disciplined since 2003, =”http://www.tsbde.state.tx.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=69″>here.
A disciplinary matrix explaining the violation tiers and sanctions was available here on Wednesday, but now requires a log in.
As of June, the Dental Board regulated 16,828 dentists, 12,674 dental hygienists, 26,498 dental assistants, 1,050 dental laboratories and 27 mobile or portable dental facilities.
Dental Board sanctions range from a fine to the removal of a license or certification.
Discipline gets progressively serious — from a warning, to a reprimand and then a suspension, which may be probated (set aside with conditions) or imposed for a limited period of time. The board can also hand down an immediate emergency suspension. A license or certification also can be revoked, but a voluntary surrender may be accepted in lieu of revocation.
The least-serious sanction is an administrative penalty or fine less than $1,000, which is not considered disciplinary action. And, of course, allegations can be dismissed.
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