It’s been nearly a year since we’ve written anything about the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry and while there appears to be little going on with the board, there is quite a bit of activity going on beneath that veneer of tranquility, including, apparently, an ongoing FBI audit of the board.
Despite the efforts of State Sen. Daniel Martiny (R-Metairie) who, in 2014 passed legislation to move the board’s headquarters from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, the board has continued to resist the move from its posh high-rent offices on Canal Street.
Our last story about the LSBD was last July. https://louisianavoice.com/2016/07/18/case-of-slidell-dentist-illustrates-unbridled-power-of-dentistry-board-to-destroy-careers-for-sake-of-money/
Apparently the FBI has taken an interest in the LSBD.
The AGENDA for a special March 10 meeting (a Friday, no less) of the board caught the eye of one of our regular readers, a dentist who was put through the board’s mill and ground into so much fodder a few years ago.
Buried on page three of the agenda, under the heading “New Business and any other business which may properly come before the board,” was item IX which said, “Discussion of FBI audit results (p. 50).”
We had no prior knowledge of any FBI audit, although we have been aware that the board’s former attorney is awaiting a disciplinary hearing before the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/11/16/dentistry-board-facing-difficult-future-because-of-policies-contracts-with-attorney-private-investigator-are-cancelled/
At the very bottom of page 3 was a call for an executive session “for the purpose of discussing investigations, adjudications, litigation and professional competency of individuals and staff; because discussion of these topics would have a detrimental effect on the bargaining and litigation position of the Louisiana State of Dentistry.”
It was unclear if the proposed closed-door session was related to the FBI audit or not.
LouisianaVoice will be making a public records request for that FBI audit report and we will publish our findings.
Meanwhile in his farewell address in the winter 2014 LSBD BULLETIN, outgoing President Dr. Wilton Guillory said, “Legislation was recently passed to move the Board’s domicile to Baton Rouge. If that legislation is not changed in the upcoming legislature as I hope, then the Board, who self generates its funds, will have to raise the license fees to fund the move. We have been able to prevent this in years past but will have no choice. We are working with the LDA (Louisiana Dentists Association) and legislators to try to prevent this unnecessary move.”
That self-generation of funds has been a bone of contention between the board and the dentists its disciplines. Because the board sets itself up as accuser, prosecutor and judge, dentists who appear on the board’s radar have little chance of prevailing in disputes.
That is, if they choose to dispute the board—and that’s a big “if” that carries high risks, as in high dollar risks. Often a token fine, if disputed, quickly becomes a five- or even a six-figure fine and more than one dentist has been run out of business by the sheer cost of defending himself from the board’s kangaroo court.
That’s why Martiny, when his own dentist fell into disfavor for a minor offense, took it upon himself to rein in the board by moving it from its Taj Mahal to more modest headquarters in Baton Rouge.
Thanks to State Reps. Robert Johnson (D-Marksville) and Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe), Martiny’s efforts may be overturned before the move can even be implemented.
House Bill 521 by Johnson and Hoffman has been reported out of committee and is scheduled to be taken up for debate before the full House tomorrow (Wednesday, May 17). Simply put, the bill would amend Act 866 by Martiny, effectively negating that action, and allow the board to remain in either New Orleans or Jefferson Parish.
Hoffman has received $3000 from the Louisiana Dental Political Action Committee since 2011, $500 from Appel Dental, LLC in 2007, and an additional $500 from two individual dentists in 2007 and 2011.
Johnson, meanwhile, has received $6,250 from the Louisiana Dental PAC since 2011, and $500 from the Kid’s Dental Zone of Alexandria, LLC in 2015. He also received $500 each from the same two individual dentists as Hoffman.
We have documented several cases of the board’s heavy-handedness in dealing with dentists, its unscrupulous investigative methods, its dictatorial dealings with dentists and its exorbitant system of fines imposed in order to pay the rent on its office space and to pay its contract private investigator and attorney. We have also written about the legal troubles of that investigator.
Perhaps legislators might like to refresh their memories about the board before they vote on Wednesday. Here are links to just a few of our stories:
Louisiana Voice 
My complaint about insurance mishandling by a dentist was ignored by the dentistry board.
Once again, a very timely piece. Now let’s see which legislators respond and who is asleep at the wheel.
This board has had major problems for years. I do radio ads for several dentists in Louisiana. One former board member that was a local competitor to one of my dentists had his radio ads subpoenaed. He did so without there being a complaint as required by law. There was not an issue with any of the ads, but the board member was doing it out of sheer hate and for anti-trust reasons. I hope the FBI shuts them down.
I have been following this dental board for a while now. Never have I seen as much corruption going on as this. It is unbelievable that they are allowed to keep operating in this manner. This dental board purposefully goes after dentists of their choosing, take their licenses, their livelihoods, try and ruin their lives for no reason other than to shut down their practices and continue on funding themselves. Many dentists just pay fines that they really do not owe because of fear they will continue to do more harm to them. This board is the judge, jury and prosecutor of innocent people. This power should be taken from them and brought into the court system for a judge to decide in a fair and unbiased way. So glad to know the FBI is on to them. Thank you for posting this article!
I just read this article, so unfortunately I’m more that likely too late commenting. Hopefully the legislators did reread previous articles written in the Louisiana Voice. I can’t comment on the morals of the present board, but I know from extensive reading and personal experience that the previous board which still has some of the same board members as the present board has been corrupt. Even when the board KNEW that their investigator was proven to have made up scenarios and was shown that their attorney (the one up for misconduct by the Attorney’s Board), the Board just kept on doing what ever was suggested to them by the investigator and the attorney. It’s as if some of the Board members can’t think for themselves. The Board most definitely needs watching over.