Other Health Care Licenses  >  Dental License Defense

Ray & Bishop, PLC, defends Dentists from accusations filed by the Dental Board of California, appeals the denial of dental licenses, represents dentists in Dental Board investigations, and guides dentists through the disclosure of adverse events on dental license renewals and applications.

A California dentist is licensed by the Dental Board of California, a branch of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Dental Board of California is responsible for licensing, monitoring, regulating, and disciplining dentists and other dental professionals. The Dental Board’s Enforcement Unit investigates criminal and administrative violations, which, if substantiated, could lead to criminal and/or administrative prosecution.

When a dentist or dental professional is faced with allegations of misconduct, the Dental Board of California may decide to investigate the licensee. The investigation is conducted by the Investigation Section of the Dental Board’s Enforcement Program, which is primarily responsible for performing investigations of criminal and administrative violations of the Dental Practice Act. When the Dental Board of California decides to investigate a dentist, it typically has a Dental Board Investigator contact the dentist to arrange an interview at a field office. If your dental license is in jeopardy due to an investigation, the license defense attorneys at Ray & Bishop, PLC can defend the license in the Dental Board field office through careful preparation and advocacy. There are many methods by which the attorneys at Ray & Bishop, PLC will seek to defend your dental license. Our license defense attorneys may need to challenge requests for patient charts if appropriate, defend your medical and financial privacy as a dentist, have the case reviewed by a dental expert, and represent your interests at a Dental Board interview before a Dental Board of California interviewer.

Investigative cases that establish unlawful activity by California dentists are filed with the California Office of the Attorney General for administrative prosecution. When the Attorney General, or A.G., seeks to discipline the license of a dentist, the Attorney General files and serves and accusation against the dentist. The license defense attorneys at Ray & Bishop, PLC defend dental licenses from accusations filed by the Attorney General. If you receive a Statement to Respondent, an Accusation, a Notice of Defense and other documents, you have a license defense case which has to be defended at administrative hearings before the Office of Administrative Hearings. Our license defense attorneys have extensive experience defending dental licenses at administrative hearings and also defending dentists who are applying for their dental license but have been denied.

A dentist may face various Dental Board discipline, which could include license revocation, license suspension, license probation, license reprimand, or a citation. Common accusations include conviction of crimes substantially related to practice, violation of Business and Professions Code section 1670.1 and California Code of Regulations title 16 section 1019, and unprofessional conduct, Business and Professions Code section 1680. If you receive an accusation, you have just fifteen (15) days to file the notice of defense with the Attorney General. If the notice of defense is not filed on time, the Attorney General can ask the Dental Board to punish the license by default, which usually means revocation. Therefore, it is critical to file the notice of defense on time to avoid default and request a hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Defense of a dental license or appeal of the denial of a dental license does not necessarily have to result in going to trial to get the license. A stipulated settlement may be possible without going to hearing. At Ray & Bishop, our license defense attorneys strive to settle your license defense case for the best possible outcome prior to hearing. However, if the license case cannot reach a satisfactory outcome by settlement, we are prepared to employ our experience, knowledge and expertise to defend the dental license.