Reality Slap 101: Dental Disciplinary Meetings...Not for Amateurs...

       So, as I sit here after a whirlwind day of disciplinary hearings, I'm exhausted, yet more passionate than ever about the fate, and the future of our field of dentistry. But I have to just say it because I'm STILL shaking my head....Holy Hot Dental Messes, Batman! When will dentists learn that they can run but they can't hide when it comes to complaints filed, violations piling up, disciplinary sanctions issued, fines, penalties and costs multiplying like rabbits? And, might I just add that showing up to face these unattractive situations completely unprepared is NOT a good STRATEGY!!??!! You know, it takes a lot to shock me...really...but today, I'm still rather stunned and definitely shaken...as I patiently await the appropriate time for the commencement of Merlot-Thirty to smooth out the jagged edges created by 23 disciplinary actions, and 3 (count them THREE) dentists who 'Voluntarily Relinquished their Licenses'. Yowza! How the heck does it even GET to this stage? This is a sad day for Florida dentists, my friends, but as soon as I'm done mentally processing this catastrophic situation, I will get up, dust myself off, and trudge on with renewed purpose to save dentistry....one dentist at a time. Unfortunately, I feel like I will need to be working OVERTIME on that monumental task. Ugh....

       So, let's back up here for a second. When I received the agenda from the Board of Dentistry for today's meeting I was extremely disheartened to see ALL THOSE DENTISTS' NAMES on the docket to address complaints issued against them, plus 3 dentists who have to literally give up their license...as in, you will NEVER practice dentistry again because you did NOT learn your lesson the first, third, or twelfth time you were sanctioned (in more states than just Florida, for some) so we are left with no choice but to have you VOLUNTARILY relinquish your dental license. Period. The End. Buh Bye, Dental Career and Future Dental Income! It sure was nice knowing you, and you DEFINITELY will be missed!

        That really hit me and I began researching these situations to find out how this could happen to not one but THREE dentists in this FIRST Board meeting of the year. We still have 3 more meetings to go this year and the docket is overwhelmingly full! In fact, many of these cases go back to 2009 so this is one heck of a pile of complaints and actionable violations here yet to be resolved. Where's my massive shovel and flashlight when I need them most? This pile literally needs some strong TOOLS to get through here!

       Well,  like a combination of a good archeologist and Sherlock Holmes, I can pretty much dig up anything on anybody so researching these situations unearthed a dentist with many relinquished dental licenses in many other states BESIDES Florida.....! What the heck??? Ok, this sounds like we have a 'Serial Dental Violator' on the loose in Florida that has finally been caught but I still ask myself...what in the heck are these dentists thinking? I can imagine a trail of lousy dental work and dissatisfied patients across many states who have pursued on, followed these dentists' trails, and filed complaints to each state's Board of Dentistry (exposing the sins committed in prior locations), with tenacity and newly-scorned determination, until one by one, the licenses were revoked; state by state. How awful. How truly, really, awful. Everyone loses in a situation like this; patients, communities at risk, colleagues fooled, and the field of dentistry with additional burdens trying to minimize the damage and continual repairs needed to FIX this bad situation ("reputation management", we now call it). How ridiculously sad......Merlot-Thirty can't come quick enough today it seems.

       On good side of this, however, and yes, there really IS a (small) good side hiding underneath this pile of disdainful disciplinary damage, which can be taken away from today's injurious events, and that is this: there are some VERY important lessons that can and should be learned from this hot mess of a situation. If a dentist ends up being summoned by the Board of Dentistry for a Disciplinary Hearing, I STRONGLY recommend the following actions be undertaken by the dentist (pay attention here; this is where I get direct):

1. SHOW UP ON TIME!
For the love of GOD, make this a priority and DON'T go into other areas to talk on the phone, text whomever, or check on your emails while waiting to be called!! This SHOULD be common sense but it was not for some dentists. The Board members had to go OUT into the HALLWAY and call out the dentists' NAMES, for heaven's sakes, and it would appear to me that there was DEFINITELY a correlation with less patience on behalf of the Board (and rightly so) and more cases being settled in record, speedy, time with little opportunity for negotiating or commenting (again, and rightly so after wasting the Board's time HUNTING for dentists). In fact, one No-Show dentist received the highest fine of the day of $20,000.00 (not including court costs, restitution, or other fees assessed) which was hitherto stated as Moved, Seconded, and So Accepted by Board members in 'likitty-split' fashion! Poof! Just like that! You win the big penalty prize of the day! Done! 20 Grand Now Due! Please Remit Immediately!Thanks so much and Have a Great Day!

2. BE PREPARED!
Bring every and all documents related to this and other situations similar to this violation, like CE records, Payment or Refund Information, Letters of Apology to whomever, Witnesses or Witness Statements that are Notarized for the events that took place, and if guilty of the violation, ADMIT IT, show attempts at restitution, and illustrate how this violation can be AVOIDED in the future by the new PROTOCOLS that have been put in place to correct the error and/or deficiency that caused the violation! I was literally flabbergasted at how unprepared these dentists were and how their inability to prove anything stated impacted their accountability. I sat there and listened to dentists state that they have learned their lesson but when asked by a Board member (and rightly so!) what changes have been made in their practices to avoid this happening again,.... NOTHING CONCRETE was even explained! No new protocols, no new training, no new safety precautions, no new continuing education completed, no new checklists designed, NOTHING...other than, (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'Well, I know not to do that again". Huh??? That's IT???? If I wasn't so stunned at the lack of preparedness for a vast number of these cases, I would have likely seen the equally stunned look on the faces of the Board members who (I'm told) were as incredulous as I was!

3. ACCEPT ACCOUNTABILITY!
Since no one is perfect, and people of all professions and walks of life make mistakes everyday, it is how these mistakes are CORRECTED that can make a powerful and more positive impact on the end result. In fact, here's the research from the National Institute of Health to substantiate this approach: Communication Gaffes: A Root Cause of Malpractice Claims. Therefore, I STRONGLY suggest (as do the researchers on this topic) that an attitude of humility and honesty be taken, that dentists not argue out the details of a bad situation in an attempt to make it all SOUND better than it is, and APOLOGIZE for the mistakes made. I recognize that if dentists were able to do this to begin with then 98% of the complaints submitted to the Board of Dentistry would likely not be submitted at all, but I know what I know about this topic and here's what I know. Dentist's don't like confrontation, nor do they like admitting they are wrong on something regardless of the fact that doctors in all disciplines make mistakes from time to time as well. I don't know how dentistry compares to doctors, since I'm in dentistry, but I do know that dentist's generally don't like confrontation. Ask any staff members of dentists and they will likely confirm this (in my humble opinion). Being arrogant, argumentative, defending the actions, or worse yet CRITICIZING the complainant and/or patient will get dentists an UBER-UGLY result! In FACT, if a dentist DID make a mistake, and actually DID apologize for it to the patient and whomever was impacted by the mistake, there is a VERY real likelihood that the complainant would not even REPORT it to the Board of Dentistry, ESPECIALLY if a dentist attempted to CORRECT it to the patient's satisfaction level! But no...that does not happen as much as it should based on the 26 names and cases on the Disciplinary Agenda for this meeting alone. We still have three more to go for this year. I'm pooped just thinking about it.

       So, here we are at the corner of What The Hell Just Happened Street and You Just Lost Your License Boulevard, and it's an ugly crossroad to be standing at, and an even uglier place to spend the rest of your life living in; I can assure you. I'm hoping that the severity of this sobering meeting will make a difference in the way mistakes are handled by dentists. I'm hoping that this lesson in Reality Slap 101 is an effective "redirect" for dentistry as a whole. If you are a dentist, and you're reading this, and you're angry at my words, chances are that you may have a negative attitude that will not get you far in the field of dentistry (in my HUMBLE opinion). It just won't. If you're a dentist and you read this and you're saddened, shocked, or embarrassed by my words, then there's hope for you going forward because you realize the seriousness of this situation. I call 'em as I see 'em and this one was ugly on all levels. Let's face it; they don't call me the Scariest Woman in Dentistry for nothing. And, if you're a dentist, and you're having a hard time believing the severity of this meeting, or the facts and opinions stated here in this blog posting, then I invite you to visit the website for the Board of Dentistry's Meetings and download the Meeting Minutes from past meetings, as well as this meeting which will be posted soon.

       Additionally, I encourage you to attend a Board of Dentistry meeting, and there are 3 others this year in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Gainesville. In fact, here is the link: Florida Board of Dentistry Meetings and Minutes. It will be an eye-opener for sure, and hopefully, it will impact your own practicing of dentistry in a more positive way. That's my hope and I'm going to keep hoping that it will. In the meantime, there's a 'crap-ton' of more work to do to save dentistry and dentists themselves, so I'm going to get off this blog and continue my massive amount of work on that next!

       Thanks for stopping by, and remember, you only have to brush and floss the teeth that you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, want to keep. That's it. Nothing more.

Dr. Driscoll