Just a little bit of information about how the State Board works –
any complaint made to the Texas State Board of Dental
Examiners will be investigated to conclusion. It does not matter
how ridiculous that complaint may be. Once made, the complaint
cannot be withdrawn. Even if you and the patient who made the
complaint have now become the very best of friends, the complaint can’t be retracted. When you receive notification of a State
Board complaint, you’re asked for a complete copy of all records
regarding the patient in question and a brief narrative. Initially,
these two components make up your entire defense. From experience, I can tell you that this is where you will want the complaint to end and end in your favor.
The investigation
The investigation involves essentially two parts, the first part
being to determine the validity of the patient’s complaint. In
other words, did you actually make a clinical error with regard to
treatment or diagnosis? I’ve read hundreds of these complaints
over the last 20 years. To be kind, all I’ll say is that the average
person on the street doesn’t really understand very much about
clinical dentistry. Maybe that’s the reasoning behind the State
Board’s decision beginning January 2014 to stop sending an
actual copy of the patient complaint as part of the notification
process. That is the only part of the State Board’s 2014 reorganization of the complaint process I didn’t really understand.
Anyway, the clinical part of the complaint is often dismissed
rather quickly.
The second part of the complaint has to do with your records. In
many cases, this is where things can get unpleasant for the dentist. The Texas Dental Practices Act identifies the components of
a proper patient record. These elements are defined in detail and
this requirement is the real reason a dentist should make certain
their patient records are complete and in order. The State Board
investigator will look for a complete and updated medical history
form, procedure specific consent forms, treatment plan and clear,
accurate and complete progress notes that chronologically detail
the treatment performed.
not minor at all) as failing to record the patient’s blood pressure
in the progress notes. This doesn’t mean that a blood pressure
reading wasn’t taken, only that it wasn’t recorded. If it’s not in
the record, as far as the state board is concerned, it didn’t happen.
Keep in mind, a p