License Defense for Dentists and Dental Hygienists in Miami

We help dentists and dental hygienists respond to the investigation, challenge the administrative complaint, and take disputed cases to an independent administrative law judge.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. When a license case and a criminal case come from the same facts, we handle both. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Who Regulates Dentists in Florida

• Dentists and dental hygienists are licensed under Chapter 466 of the Florida Statutes.
• They are regulated by the Board of Dentistry within the Florida Department of Health. The department investigates and prosecutes; the board decides. Chapter 456 adds general rules for every health care profession.

Common Grounds for Discipline

Summarized in plain terms from s. 466.028 and s. 456.072:

• Standard of care: incompetence or negligence by failing to meet minimum standards of performance in diagnosis and treatment measured against generally prevailing peer performance, including dental malpractice; operating an office in a way that results in treatment below minimum acceptable community standards, such as substandard materials or equipment or time limits on procedures.
• Anesthesia and sedation given in violation of the board's rules.
• Records: failing to keep written dental records and medical histories that justify the treatment, including X-rays if taken; failing to give a patient, on proper request, copies of the patient's records.
• Fraud and misconduct: committing fraud, deceit, or misconduct in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene; deceptive or fraudulent representations; false reports or records; fraudulent or misleading advertising, including advertising specialty services improperly.
• Prescribing: prescribing or dispensing a legend drug or controlled substance outside the course of professional practice; prescribing scheduled drugs to yourself; presigning blank prescription or lab work order forms.
• Who controls the practice: being employed to practice dentistry by someone other than a dentist or a dentist-owned professional corporation or LLC; letting a non-dentist direct or interfere with your clinical judgment.
• Orthodontic and aligner care: starting correction of malpositioned teeth or an orthodontic appliance without the required in-person examination (or records from one within the last 12 months) and review of recent imaging.
• Sexual battery on a patient or intentionally touching a patient's sexual organ.
• Being unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety because of illness, alcohol, drugs, or a mental or physical condition.
• Criminal cases: a conviction, finding of guilt, or no contest plea, regardless of adjudication, to a crime that relates to dentistry or dental hygiene. Under the dental statute, a no contest plea creates a rebuttable presumption of guilt of the underlying charges.
• Aiding unlicensed practice, practicing beyond your scope, or improper delegation.
• Failing to report: a conviction or plea within 30 days, or discipline in another state within 30 days.

How a Complaint Becomes an Administrative Complaint

Under s. 456.073:

1. Complaint and investigation. The department investigates a written, signed, legally sufficient complaint, or opens its own investigation. A withdrawn complaint can still go forward.
2. Notice and response. The department must promptly send you or your attorney a copy of the complaint or document that started the investigation. You may submit a written response within 20 days after service, and the probable cause panel considers it. If the conduct is a criminal offense, the department can investigate without notice.
3. Investigative file. After the department recommends probable cause, you may ask in writing to inspect the investigative file, including expert reports if you agree in writing to keep them confidential, and file a written response within 20 days of the department's mailing, unless the department extends the time.
4. Probable cause. A panel of the board decides. It can issue a letter of guidance instead. If it finds probable cause, the department files an administrative complaint.
5. Confidentiality lasts until 10 days after probable cause is found, unless you waive it.
6. Time limit. Generally 6 years from the incident, with exceptions for criminal actions, controlled-substance diversion, sexual misconduct, and impairment.

Choosing Your Hearing: The Election of Rights Form

The administrative complaint must tell you that you have the right to request a hearing and to have a lawyer. It usually comes with a hearing-request form. Election of rights is the name used in practice for that form; the phrase does not appear in the statutes or the uniform rules. You can generally choose:

• A formal hearing before an administrative law judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) if you dispute the facts.
• An informal hearing before the board if you do not.
• A settlement, such as a consent order approved by the department.

Watch the deadline. Your papers state the deadline that applies to you. Under Florida's uniform rules for agency hearings, it is 21 days from receiving written notice, unless another law sets a different period, and missing it can waive the hearing.

The judge issues a recommended order, each side has 15 days to file exceptions, and the board issues the final order. The board cannot reject the judge's findings of fact unless, after reviewing the entire record, it states with particularity that they were not based on competent substantial evidence or that the proceedings did not comply with the essential requirements of law. A party adversely affected by the final order is entitled to judicial review in a Florida district court of appeal. For the full process, see Administrative Hearings & License Defense.

Possible penalties under s. 456.072(2) include a reprimand or letter of concern, a fine of up to $10,000 per count (a $10,000 fine per count is required for fraud or false or fraudulent representations), probation, practice restrictions, refunds to patients or payors, remedial education, suspension, and permanent revocation.

Emergency Suspension

If the agency finds an immediate serious danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, it can suspend or restrict a license by emergency order before a hearing, stating the specific facts and reasons in writing. A regular proceeding must also be promptly started, and the emergency order can be challenged in court right away.

Under s. 456.074, the department must issue an emergency order suspending the license of any health care practitioner who pleads guilty or no contest to, or is convicted or found guilty of, regardless of adjudication: a felony under Chapter 409 (social and economic assistance, which includes Medicaid), Chapter 817 (fraudulent practices), or Chapter 893 (drug abuse prevention and control), or under the listed federal drug and Medicare and Medicaid laws; listed federal offenses relating to the Medicaid program; a reproductive battery felony; or a homicide felony. It also must suspend a practitioner who is arrested for any of the listed sexual misconduct, kidnapping, false imprisonment, human trafficking, human smuggling, and child-exploitation offenses, and must suspend when the State Surgeon General finds probable cause of sexual misconduct that is an immediate danger to the public. The department may also suspend or restrict after a positive employer or pre-employment drug test without a lawful prescription; you have 48 hours from notice of the confirmed result to produce one.

When There Is Also a Criminal Case

• A plea counts regardless of adjudication, and under the dental statute a no contest plea is presumed to mean guilt unless you rebut it.
• Insurance and billing cases can lead to fraud charges and, for felonies in the fraud chapter, a mandatory emergency suspension.
• Practicing dentistry or dental hygiene without an active license is itself a third-degree felony under s. 466.026. Using a suspended or revoked license is too.
• Report a conviction or plea to the board in writing within 30 days.

Make the license part of every decision in the criminal case. See Health Care Fraud, Insurance Fraud, Medicaid Fraud, Drug Crimes, and Practicing Without a License.

What to Do If You Get a Letter

1. Do not call the investigator or the patient to explain.
2. Do not send a written response yourself. The 20-day window is short.
3. Preserve the chart, X-rays, sedation logs, and billing. Do not alter anything.
4. Write down the date you received the letter.
5. Tell us about any audit, lawsuit, or arrest.
6. Call us.

Want to File a Complaint Against a Dentist?

You can file a complaint with the Florida Department of Health. It must be in writing, signed, and legally sufficient, which means it states facts showing a violation; the department may ask for documents such as your records and bills. The department must keep you informed of the status of the investigation, give you a copy of the administrative complaint if probable cause is found, and tell you if it is not (you may then send more information within 60 days). You can present oral or written communication at the hearing. Good-faith complainants are protected from civil liability.

A board complaint will not refund your money or pay for an injury. If dental treatment harmed you, you may have a separate civil claim with strict deadlines. Call us.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• License case and criminal case handled together.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Board of Dentistry also discipline dental hygienists?

Yes. Dental hygienists are licensed under Chapter 466, and the disciplinary statute covers dental hygiene.

How long do I have to respond to the department's letter?

The statute allows a written response within 20 days after service.

I pleaded no contest. Isn't that different from guilty?

Not for your dental license. A no contest plea counts regardless of adjudication, and the dental statute treats it as a rebuttable presumption of guilt.

Can my license be suspended before a hearing?

Yes, by emergency order when there is an immediate serious danger to the public. For certain pleas, convictions, and arrests, the statute requires the department to issue that order.

Can a non-dentist own or run my practice?

The statute makes it a ground for discipline to be employed to practice dentistry by anyone other than a dentist or a dentist-owned professional corporation or LLC, or to let a non-dentist interfere with your clinical judgment. If you work under a management or ownership arrangement, have it reviewed.