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AZ BODEX Meeting
Jacob de Werd
MCC Dental Hygiene
Ethics
Kim Zitek
April 9, 2024
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Ethical principles and standards are held high in the dental hygiene world. Most of these
principles are regulated and brought up by our dental boards across the nation. The Arizona
BODEX meeting is a time when the dental board comes together to be tasked to define and
implement our ethical standards and principles to help regulate and combat malpractice
throughout Arizona.
When attending the Arizona BODEX meeting a plethora of issues were addressed by the
board that showcased substandard morals and standards. One issue that was addressed was a
dentist whose license was suspended by the board due to issues they had with him in the past.
The dentist was an older man, who seemed to have had some cognitive issues due to age and
seemed to be confused about what was happening during the meetings. Furthermore, the board
called upon a dentist who had worked with him in the past to testify against him. She stated that
he seemed very confused and not mentally fit to practice on patients. Overall, the suspension was
continued, and the dentist was still denied the right to practice on patients. Additionally, another
past case was brought up of a dentist who had been seen on multiple cases against him showing
various malpractice suits. Although most of the malpractice suits against the dentist were simple
issues, the board saw that something does not seem right with the cases and decided to perform
an audit on the dentist’s notes. By doing this, the board agreed it may give more insight into what
may be occurring within the practice and may reveal and help build allegations against him for a
new case to suspend their license.
Another case that was addressed was a dentist who had given a patient orthodontics in
2021. The patient showed signs of white spots and was given prevedent to help aide in the
prevention of caries. However, during this time the patient ended up missing their 6month
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prophylaxis in April and later went to a different dentist and displayed signs of decay and needed
a root canal. Overall, the board decided that ultimately the patient was at fault rather than the
dentist, but due to some documentation issues the board saw in the dentist’s notes, the dentist
was penalized with risk management and documentation courses. Additionally, there were many
cases against dentists that had placed implants that unfortunately fail within less than a year.
Although most of the cases were given risk management, the idea of bringing up more training
and continuing education on implants was brought up by the board due to the constant
occurrence of these happenings.
Another issue discussed at the board meeting was adding an additional hygienist to the
board. Much debate was brought up about this and ultimately the board decided to be against the
action due to the imbalance it would cause to the board. This is due to the board having an odd
number of representatives rather than an even number. Making the board an even number
displayed a greater risk in not reaching decisions with a possible 50-50 votes.
When analyzing all the proceedings I believe most were fair for the verdicts. Most
proceedings were debated with good point of view and judgement from the board members.
Additionally, most of the proceedings were issues that may have been able to be prevented by
fixing one or two areas in documentation, so I believe having someone complete risk
management courses help to ensure that the dentist learned from their mistakes and allows them
to show that they can improve in these areas.
Ethical principles that I observed in the proceeding were non-maleficence and
beneficence in a lot of cases. This is due to a lot of the different cases showcased failing implants
or bridges that dentists would place. Additionally, the issue of the ortho brackets showed that
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ultimately the patient was harmed. Most of the issues at hand were mistakes that the dentist had
made which ultimately would affect patients. Additionally, I believe the fundamental principle of
responsibility was affected throughout cases as documentation seemed to be a common
occurrence of issues displayed from case to case, making sure to go into more thorough depth is
important to make sure that all risks are backed up and can be shown that they were told to the
patient to avoid malpractices.
Overall, the Arizona board of dentistry helps immensely in serving the profession and the
public. It helps our profession by keeping the professionals accountable for malpractice and to
help uphold our high standards to make the best experience possible for the public. Additionally,
the board helps to serve the public by holding people who have committed malpractice
responsible for their mistakes and in turn helping deliver great dentistry in the future. Overall,
the dental board does a fantastic job at showcasing what it means to be professional and uphold a
high standard. Although the board seems intimidating, the level of knowledge and understanding
about the field was displayed effectively and efficiently and allowed for reasonable outcomes
with cases.
To manage myself to not be brought up to the board, I plan on having the same high
standards that are expected of me and to perform to the best of my ability to deliver great oral
hygiene care. Additionally, I plan to be more mindful of my documentation and note taking to
avoid risk and to make sure no mistakes are made. I also plan on finding continued education
courses in note taking and some risk management classes to refresh myself on these issues to
help maintain my ethical standards. Upholding myself to perform at a high standard will be
rewarding and overall contribute to the success of a long and rewarding career.
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Appendices
Appendix A

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MCC Dental Hygiene

new case to suspend their license.

occurrence of these happenings.

to show that they can improve in these areas.

Ethical principles that I observed in the proceeding were non-maleficence and

responsibility was affected throughout cases as documentation seemed to be a common

patient to avoid malpractices.

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