How a New York Dentist May Lose a License and How to Avoid It

Dentists are licensed professionals and all professions that require a license in New York are subject to heavy regulations in the area of professional conduct. With the exceptions of physicians, their assistants, attorneys, and a handful of other professions, professional misconduct of all other professions including dentists is investigated and prosecuted by the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions. Essentially, the OPD (Office of Professional Discipline) is the prosecutorial arm of the Department of Education. When, after investigation, the OPD determines that professional misconduct has occurred, the case is heard before the Board of Regents, which is the ultimate licensing agency in New York with the power to grant licenses and to take them away. The Board conducts all disciplinary proceedings and disposes of cases before it.

New York professional dental misconduct occurs when a licensed dentist in his professional capacity acts below the excepted standards of dental practice. As a dentist, there are numerous ways you may be investigated for professional malpractice. Most common charges may include gross incompetence or gross negligence on one or more occasions, allowing or helping an unlicensed person to perform activities that require a license, refuse a patient service because of race, creed, color, or national origin, practice beyond the scope of dental profession, breach of patient confidence, being convicted of a crime, refusing to return a file on demand, neglecting a patient in emergency situation, doing dental work that is unnecessary or unauthorized, performing dental work while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and abusing patients, sexually or physically.

In the recent years, various agencies stepped up efforts to crack down on fraud in the healthcare industry. This resulted in an increased amount of criminal prosecutions and convictions for insurance and Medicaid fraud. The recent history of the OPD disciplinary matters against dentists in New York shows that a significant number of dentists disciplined by the Board were actually prosecuted for fraud related offenses ranging from filing false reports to Medicaid fraud.

If a New York dentist is found guilty of professional misconduct or consents to charges of misconduct, penalties may include censure and reprimand, hefty fines of up to $10,000 for each violation, suspension, and even permanent license revocation. Other penalties may involve being banned from participating in particular insurance plans or the Medicaid program.

An OPD investigation is very much like a criminal investigation and by way too many suspects are heavily complicate their future defense by agreeing to be interviewed by an investigator. In professional discipline matters, the suspect has fewer rights than a defendant in a criminal case. By the same token, the prosecuting agency enjoys more flexibility and rights than a district attorney does in a criminal prosecution. The mistake of voluntarily speaking with an investigator is likely to do dramatic damage to your case. This does not mean that when contacted by an investigator, the dentist should be rude. Rather, the only correct way to handle the situation at that time would be politely telling the investigator that you are happy to cooperate and will do so after consulting with an attorney. The rest should be handled by a professional experienced in such proceedings. In the situation that may well be the most serious predicament of your life, handling this without help is gambling with your career and livelihood.