Why does the Board have to become involved in every patient complaint, no matter how minor or frivolous the problem ?
Many dentists feel that complaints that are obviously simple misunderstandings and are frivolous in nature should not be handled by the Board, that it has more important things to do. While this is true, the Board long ago adopted a policy that all written complaints received would merit the same degree of attention through the first several phases. For every complaint, the dentist is advised of it and asked to respond. Then a Board investigator interviews both the dentist and the complainant in order to obtain all the details about the complaint. These steps are always taken, although most of the complaints that are unfounded are closed at this point. Since the Board must act in the interest of the public, it must be certain of all the facts surrounding a complaint before closing one. There have been instances of a seemingly frivolous complaint leading to more serious charges upon a thorough investigation. On the other hand, situations that sounded ominous from reading the complaint h
