(a)  Any person, firm, corporation, or public officer may submit a written complaint to the board charging the holder of a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene or a limited registrant with unprofessional conduct, specifying the grounds for the charge.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-11

  • Board: means the Rhode Island board of examiners in dentistry or any committee or subcommittee of the board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • dental assistant: is a ny person not licensed under the provisions of this chapter who performs dental services, procedures, or duties in aid of a licensed and registered dentist. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-31
  • Dental hygienist: means a person with a license to practice dental hygiene in this state under the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Dentist: means a person with a license to practice dentistry in this state under the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Limited registrant: means a person holding a limited registration certificate pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust or estate, state or political subdivision, or instrumentality of a state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • unprofessional conduct: as used in this chapter includes, but is not limited to, the following items or any combination of them and may be defined by regulations established by the board with the approval of the director:

    (1)  Fraudulent or deceptive procuring or use of a license or limited registration;

    (2)  All advertising of dental, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting business that is intended, or has a tendency, to deceive the public or a dentist advertising as a specialty in an area of dentistry unless the dentist:

    (i)  Is a diplomat of or a fellow in a specialty board accredited or recognized by the American Dental Association; or

    (ii)  Has completed a postgraduate program approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association;

    (3)  Conviction of a felony; conviction of a crime arising out of the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting;

    (4)  Abandonment of a patient;

    (5)  Dependence upon controlled substances, habitual drunkenness, or rendering professional services to a patient while the dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant is intoxicated or incapacitated by the use of drugs;

    (6)  Promotion by a dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant of the sale of drugs, devices, appliances, or goods or services provided for a patient in a manner as to exploit the patient for the financial gain of the dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant;

    (7)  Immoral conduct of a dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant in the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting;

    (8)  Willfully making and filing false reports or records in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene;

    (9)  Willful omission to file or record, or willfully impeding or obstructing a filing or recording, or inducing another person to omit to file or record dental or other reports as required by law;

    (10)  Failure to furnish details of a patient's dental record to succeeding dentists or dental care facility upon proper request pursuant to this chapter;

    (11)  Solicitation of professional patronage by agents or persons or profiting from acts of those representing themselves to be agents of the licensed dentist, dental hygienist, or limited registrant;

    (12)  Division of fees, or agreeing to split or divide the fees, received for professional services for any person for bringing to or referring a patient;

    (13)  Agreeing with clinical or bioanalytical laboratories to accept payments from those laboratories for individual tests or test series for patients, or agreeing with dental laboratories to accept payment from those laboratories for work referred;

    (14)  Willful misrepresentation in treatments;

    (15)  Practicing dentistry with an unlicensed dentist or practicing dental hygiene with an unlicensed dental hygienist or practicing DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting with an unlicensed DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, except in an accredited training program, or with a dental assistant in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board or aiding or abetting those unlicensed persons in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene;

    (16)  Gross and willful overcharging for professional services, including filing of false statements for collection of fees for which services are not rendered, or willfully making or assisting in making a false claim or deceptive claim or misrepresenting a material fact for use in determining rights to dental care or other benefits;

    (17)  Offering, undertaking, or agreeing to cure or treat disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment, or medicine;

    (18)  Professional or mental incompetence;

    (19)  Incompetent, negligent, or willful misconduct in the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting, including the rendering of unnecessary dental services and any departure from, or the failure to conform to, the minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing dental, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting practice in his or her area of expertise as is determined by the board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-10

(b)  The board shall review all complaints and, in those instances where no referral is made to an investigating committee, the board of examiners in dentistry shall make a written finding of facts with regard to the complaint. In conducting an investigation of such complaints that requires an inspection of a dental office:

(1)  Either the investigative committee or the full board of examiners in dentistry shall make such finding and it must be evidenced by recorded minutes showing the vote to conduct an inspection;

(2)  The scope and manner of conducting any such inspection shall be reasonably related to the written complaint received. Any dentist(s) whose practice is the subject of such inspection shall be provided by either the investigative committee or the full board with a copy of the complaint or a written summary of all pertinent allegations prior to or at the commencement of the inspection;

(3)  At the conclusion of the inspection and prior to leaving the dental office premises the board inspectors shall provide the dentist whose office has been inspected with a copy of the completed inspection form, noting areas of deficiency or follow-up;

(4)  Unless there is a real potential of imminent, unreasonable harm to patients or staff, the dentist shall have ten (10) days to remedy any deficiencies found during the inspection; and

(5)  All inspections shall be carried out so as not to interfere with direct patient care.

(c)  All complaints considered by the board or an investigating committee of the board shall be reported within six (6) months of the receipt of the complaint unless the board, on a case-by-case basis, for good cause shown, in writing, extends the time for consideration; provided, that failure to report does not divest the board of its jurisdiction to pursue the rights and remedies established in this chapter.

(d)  If the board determines that the complaint merits consideration, or if the board, on its own initiative without a formal complaint, has reason to believe that any holder of a license or limited registration to practice dentistry or of a license to practice dental hygiene or of a license to practice DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting may be guilty of unprofessional conduct, the chairperson shall designate no less than two (2) members of the board, at least one of whom is a public member, to serve as a committee to investigate, and report upon the charges to the board.

If the complaint relates to a dentist, one member of the committee shall be licensed as a dentist. If the complaint relates to a dental hygienist, one member of the committee shall be licensed as a dental hygienist. If the complaint relates to a DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, one member of the committee shall be licensed as a dental hygienist or certified dental assistant.

(e)  Investigations shall remain confidential and all initial hearings, investigatory hearings, and full hearings before the board shall remain confidential.

(f)  In the event that a hearing takes place before the hearing committee of the board, all decisions of the board shall present conclusions of fact and conclusions of law applicable to the decision that it has rendered.

(g)  The board shall make public all decisions, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, that call for any sanction against a license holder as prescribed in §?5-31.1-17.

(h)  Following the investigation, the committee shall present its evaluations and recommendations to the board.

(i)  The board shall review the committee’s findings to determine whether to take further action, but no member of the board who participated in the investigation may participate in this review or any subsequent hearing or action taken by the board. The hearing committee shall consist of the remaining members of the board. Four (4) members of the hearing committee constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The chairperson of the board shall preside over the hearing.

History of Section.
P.L. 1987, ch. 358, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 95, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 163, § 1.