What to expect during a Georgia Board of Dentistry investigation
A Georgia Board of Dentistry investigation has features that surprise dentists — including an investigative interview where you may not learn the specific allegations. Here is what to expect, the Board’s powers, and how a case moves toward resolution.
Key takeaways
- The Board’s Compliance and Investigations Division assigns an investigator who may request a written statement, records, or documents.
- The Board can issue subpoenas to compel access to records and can inspect a practice’s premises.
- The Board often invites a dentist to an investigative interview with a panel of Board members — sharing the general nature but not the specific allegations.
- Altering or destroying records in contemplation of an investigation is itself unprofessional conduct.
- Very few complaints reach a formal hearing; most resolve at the investigation stage.
Who investigates, and how
Once a case is opened, the Compliance and Investigations Division assigns an investigator. The investigator may or may not contact you for additional information, a written statement, or documents — so silence does not mean the matter has gone away. The executive director is vested with broad authority under § 43-11-47(h)(1) to make the investigations the Board deems necessary to enforce the Dental Practice Act.
Subpoenas and premises inspections
The Board’s investigative powers are real. On a determination that reasonable grounds exist, the executive director or Board president can issue subpoenas to compel access to writings, documents, and other material relating to a licensee’s fitness. The Board or its designee may also, on reasonable notice, conduct an on-site inspection of the facility, equipment, and personnel of a permitted dental practice.
The investigative interview — and what you won’t be told
This is the feature that catches many Georgia dentists off guard. In a good number of cases the Board invites the dentist to a meeting with an investigative panel of several Board members. You are told which patient is involved, if any, and the general nature of the matter — treatment rendered, a criminal conviction, misconduct, or action by another state agency — but you are not told the specific allegations in the complaint. In other words, you may appear for the interview without knowing the precise concerns the panel intends to raise, which is exactly why preparation and counsel matter here.
Records: the one thing never to do
The instinct to “clean up” or clarify a chart once a complaint arrives is dangerous. Under the Board’s rules, falsifying, altering, or destroying treatment records in contemplation of an investigation or a lawsuit is itself an act of unprofessional conduct — a separate violation that can be more serious than the original complaint. Preserve records exactly as they are; the only appropriate change is none.
Mental or physical examinations
Where a licensee’s fitness is in question, the Board can direct a mental or physical examination. By accepting the privilege of practicing dentistry in Georgia, every licensee is deemed to have consented to such an examination and to have waived objection to the results’ admissibility. Failing to submit when properly directed can lead the Board to enter a final order after notice and hearing.
How investigations resolve
Most cases end at the investigation stage. The Board may close a complaint with no violation or insufficient evidence; close it with a private letter of concern where there is no violation but the Board wishes to note the issue; close it with a private consent order where there is a violation resolved by private agreement; close it with a public consent order that is posted on the licensee’s public record; or refer it for formal charges and a hearing. Only a very small number of complaints ever proceed to a formal hearing.
What helps
The steps that help are consistent: preserve complete and unaltered records, prepare thoroughly for any investigative interview — ideally with counsel, given you may not know the specific allegations — and begin a documented record of reflection and remediation. For the response and defense stage, see responding to the Georgia Board of Dentistry.
Related courses
These courses map to what an investigation examines — your records, your insight, and your evidence of remediation:
These are structured ethics and professional-development courses that issue a certificate of completion — they are not accredited continuing education (CE), and completion does not resolve a Board matter. Their value is as documented evidence of insight, reflection, and remediation, which the Georgia Board of Dentistry weighs in mitigation when deciding an outcome.