Our Story
While it may sound unbelievable, my State Dental Board opened a case and issued a disciplinary action against my license in 2025 without informing me of the specific findings that led to their decision. I’m sharing this unpleasant and somewhat embarrassing personal experience with the hope that I may help you, and as many of our colleagues as possible, to avoid a similar or worse outcome.
Although I own and operate a private practice, it was an unannounced inspection at a practice where I treated patients part time that resulted in nearly a year of significant personal anxiety and professional uncertainty for me and my team. I had no administrative authority or ownership in the practice that was investigated; I didn’t even have a key to the building. However, I soon became painfully aware that, as a licensee, I was responsible for ensuring the practice met all the requirements for current and ongoing employee training, processes and procedures, and the specific documentation associated with all aspects of regulatory compliance. I later learned the inspection resulted from a Board complaint against the practice owner by a former employee who had been dismissed from the practice.
Shortly after the inspection, I received a notice from the Board stating, “The first step in this process is to obtain your response to the allegations that there were infection control violations at your place of dental practice.” When I requested the findings from the office inspection in order to provide the required response, the Board representative replied that my request was denied. My attorney sent a formal request, indicating that I could not provide a “response to the allegations” if I was not aware of the allegations. The Board representative’s response was that dentists are “aware of the infection control/OSHA standards governing their profession”, and that I “should address the infection control issues at the facility/facilities from the perspective of working at the facility/facilities.”
With only limited information, I was required to provide a response within 30 days, addressing alleged violations that were not communicated to me by the Board. After months of anxiously waiting, I received an official notice of disciplinary action in the form of a Letter of Admonition. In it, the Board indicated I was found in violation of 12-220-201(1)(kk) C.R.S., which states in its entirety: “Committing an act or omission that fails to meet generally accepted standards for infection control”.
The letter informed me of my “right to make a written request that the Board initiate formal disciplinary proceedings before an Administrative Law Judge” if I chose to pursue the matter further. In response, my attorney again requested formal access to the investigative report. The Board replied that I would only be given access to the investigative report if I signed a non-disclosure agreement to “take all necessary steps to preserve the confidentiality of these items, including refraining from the disclosure or release of the information”.
I was genuinely shocked to learn the Board imposed formal discipline without revealing the actual allegations leveled against me, and that I would only be informed of the findings if I agreed not to disclose the information. My attorney, who had significant experience responding to Board cases, suggested that obtaining the report and pursuing the matter further would likely have no positive impact on the Board’s decision in my case, and would potentially make things worse. I was fortunate the disciplinary action did not result in restrictions on my ability to practice dentistry, but the Letter of Admonition stated that it “becomes a permanent, public portion of your record”. I reluctantly accepted the disciplinary action while retaining the ability to share my experience, and I now must respond affirmatively to the question regarding any history of disciplinary action imposed on my dental license.
Through the stressful and expensive process of responding to the case that was brought against me, I realized the Letter of Admonition provided me with only one controllable course of action. After warning that any additional violations “may lead to imposition of more formal and significant discipline”, the Board strongly advised me to “review and understand the Dental Practice Act and Rule requirements and obligations” associated with the practice of dentistry.
You and I have probably attended several available in-person and online courses providing annual OSHA and HIPAA training. Likewise, you’ve probably also been given a multi-page list of regulations at the conclusion of the course, with little direction and no assistance for implementing or properly documenting how the requirements are being met. I am sure at times that we have both been left wondering what is actually required and what is subject to interpretation. Additionally, completing the courses may fulfill the requirement for annual team training, but usually reveals to us and to our dental team that we either don’t understand all the regulations, and/or that we have no idea how or when we could possibly implement everything that is required.
After being placed in the unenviable position of urgently needing to more fully educate myself on the actual requirements and obligations, I engaged in the lengthy process of identifying correct sources of updated and current information. My practice team and I spent more than three months implementing a system in our office to ensure proper compliance and documentation. After the initial significant investment of time and resources, the process for maintaining the required level of compliance was episodic and fragmented, and it became its own challenge to manage.
Skylar Smith, RDH, BS recognized the importance of protecting our team and our patients, as well as the license of every dentist and dental hygienist in our practice, and championed the cause of ongoing systematization in our office. At first, we were bewildered and discouraged by the amount of time, research, and effort it took to put our system in place, only to be disappointed to learn we had to update and document ongoing tasks weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually, or risk once again being out of compliance and having to start over. To solve this problem, we explored and partnered with an established online platform that automates the timing, distribution, tracking, and documentation of our compliance-related tasks in order to minimize the time taken away from the more productive aspects of our workweek.
Regardless of the system in place, we found it was still necessary for at least one team member to be fully informed and responsible for every aspect of maintaining compliance, including the required frequency and documentation of required tasks. This time-consuming and often frustrating role is one for which few members of the dental team will volunteer. Even though Skylar was willing to do so in our office, I was especially concerned about what might happen if she were to change employment and we were to again be left unaware of how to remain compliant.
Recognizing the widespread need for our dental colleagues in private practice to access a reliable source of information, a systematized approach for implementation, and the ability to remain compliant regardless of staffing changes, Skylar and I created Customize Compliance. We have made it our mission to allow you to outsource the needed expertise, accountability, and documentation so you, your team, and your patients are better protected as you focus on what is most important to you.
By trying to do it all on our own, it took us nearly a year of dedicated effort to consistently maintain compliance in our own practice. We now know it does not need to take so long or to be so frustrating. We have divided and prioritized the process into manageable steps, and we will walk you through the entire process while providing guidance and ongoing direct support to ensure your practice remains compliant.
If you’d like to have the confidence of knowing your compliance needs are managed and up to date, we will be happy to take the lead on implementing the system and processes as well as the ongoing accountability and customized documentation of regulatory compliance for your practice. We are certain we can help you to make regulatory compliance an established and continually updated system in your office, so you and your team are able to avoid much of the unproductive busywork, and better able to remain focussed on patient care and the growth of your practice.
– Doug Whetten, DDS, MHA