Audit finds dental patients could be at risk

09:33 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 24, 2005

By LEE MCGUIRE / KVUE News and wire reports

AUSTIN -- Failure to enforce professional standards and investigate backgrounds has threatened the health and safety of dental patients, according to a state audit.

KVUE News

The audit of the State Board of Dental Examiners says that these gaps could put patients at risk.

The audit found that the agency failed in up to a third of about 60 cases studied to ensure that dentists and dental hygienists complied with sanctions after they had been disciplined for violating professional standards.

Of more than 1,100 people licensed by the board from September 2003 to February 2005, six had criminal convictions that should have been investigated and considered during the licensing process, the audit said.

Now, the board is going back, to re-check all dentists licensed since 1998. The auditor also found problems with the way the board reprimands dentists found to be doing something wrong:

In one case, the board ordered a dentist attend substance-abuse counseling - then renewed their license, even though they never attended the counseling. The board ordered one dental office be randomly inspected for sanitation violations -- then never performed the inspections. And in one case, it fined a dentist $3,000, which may never have been collected.

"We have great dentists. We have very reliable and trustworthy dentists. Unfortunately when you get a large group of people together be it dentists or health care professionals in any industry, there are going to be those few bad apples," said Rollin Sarradet, DDS Dentist.

Now the state auditor is trying to put the bite back, in what it says has become a toothless agency.

In a statement, the attorney for the board of dental examiners told KVUE News -- they have started to replace outdated computer software -- which should keep better track of complaints and disciplinary actions.

The board has also asked lawmakers to let them hire more staff, but the legislature has repeatedly denied those requests.