Professional ethics, unprofessional conduct, and grounds for discipline
Domain 6 - Professional ethics, unprofessional conduct, and grounds for discipline
This domain tests the conduct standards that can end a license. The Act lists grounds for discipline, and the Commission evaluates them against the licensee's actual conduct, not the label the licensee prefers.
Grounds commonly tested
- Fraud or deceit in obtaining a license or in billing.
- Incompetence, negligence, or gross malpractice.
- Practicing outside the scope of the license or permitting an unlicensed person to practice.
- Habitual substance abuse or impairment that affects practice.
- Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude or a felony.
- Violating the Act, DPH regulations, or a prior disciplinary order.
- Failing to cooperate with a DPH investigation or failing to maintain required records.
Ethical duties that show up in fact patterns
- Put the patient's interest first and avoid conflicts of interest.
- Obtain informed consent and respect refusal.
- Do not abandon a patient mid-treatment; provide notice and emergency care.
- Do not discriminate; maintain confidentiality; bill honestly.
- Treat colleagues fairly; do not make false statements about another dentist's care.
Discipline
Available sanctions include reprimand, probation with conditions, suspension, revocation, civil penalties, and required continuing education. A consent order can resolve a case without a contested hearing, but it still becomes part of the public disciplinary record.
Worked example
A dentist submits claims for crowns that were never delivered and tells the investigator the charts were 'lost.' The billing fraud is a ground for discipline on its own; the missing records and the false statement to the investigator add separate grounds. The likely outcome is a consent order with restitution, a civil penalty, and probation rather than a simple warning, because the conduct involves dishonesty and obstruction.
Traps that cost marks
- Assuming only criminal convictions matter; administrative violations count.
- Believing a private settlement with the patient ends the DPH matter.
- Assuming an apology or refund cures a falsified record.
- Overlooking the duty to cooperate with investigators.