Ohio Standard of Care for Dentists

The dental attorneys at Nardone Limited in Columbus, Ohio advise dentists on the acceptable standard of care in their professional practice, and represent dentists in Ohio State Dental Board hearings and professional liability matters, where the standard of care issues have been raised. This article discusses the standard of care that applies to an Ohio dentist when that dentist treats a patient.

The Concept of Standard of Care

In general, standard of care refers to a set of expectations that arise from a person owing a duty to another. For a dentist, the standard of care is the set of expectations that a dentist owes his patient that arises from the duty established in the dentist-patient relationship. The dentist’s duty is created when the dentist performs, and the patient accepts, services for dental treatment. The standard of care may be involved in the following types of proceedings: (1) an Ohio State Dental Board hearing, which will affect a dentist’s professional license; and (2) a malpractice action in an Ohio court, which will affect a dentist’s liability for professional negligence.

Standard of Care in an Ohio State Dental Board Proceeding

The Ohio State Dental Board is statutorily vested with the power to oversee licensure in the practice of dentistry and enforce disciplinary actions for behavior that departs from the accepted standard of care for the profession. R.C. 4715.03; Sohi v. Ohio State Dental Board, 130 Ohio App.3d 414, 424-25, 720 N.E.2d 187 (1st Dist.1998). For the Ohio State Dental Board, the standard of care is the accepted standards for the practice of dentistry, which function as a minimum baseline of acceptable behavior. This baseline reflects what behavior is and is not acceptable in the practice of dentistry. In other words, it is what a reasonable and prudent dentist should, at minimum, be doing under the circumstances.

In a hearing, the Ohio State Dental Board determines the minimum standard of care that applies to the dentist’s circumstances. Parties may provide the Ohio State Dental Board with evidence about the minimum standard of care, which can take the form of expert witness testimony, national or regional guidelines, and other similar evidence. The Ohio State Dental Board weighs the credibility of this evidence, and makes findings of fact to determine the minimum standard of care that applies to the dentist’s circumstances. Then, the Ohio State Dental Board will compare the dentist’s behavior against this minimum standard of care. If the dentist’s behavior does not meet the minimum standard, then the Ohio State Dental Board will likely conclude that a standard of care violation has occurred.

Standard of Care in a Malpractice Action

In a malpractice action, a court will also determine whether a dentist has violated the standard of care, but the court will treat the standard of care as an element of professional negligence. Corbett v. Kostas, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 90329, 2008-Ohio-3967, ¶ 11. In Ohio malpractice actions, the standard of care for dentists is to use the skill, care, and diligence that a similar dentist would under similar circumstances. Corbett at ¶ 11. These recognized standards in the dental community are established by expert testimony. Corbett at ¶ 14. The court will then compare the dentist’s behavior to the standard of care, to determine whether a breach occurred. A breach means that when comparing the dentist’s behavior to the standard of care, a dentist of ordinary skill, care, and diligence would not have taken that act or omission under like or similar circumstances. Morgan v. Ohio State University College of Dentistry, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 13AP–287, 2014-Ohio-1846, ¶ 23. The two remaining elements that must be proven in a dental malpractice action are that the patient was injured, and that the injury was proximately caused by the dentist’s act or omission. Morgan at ¶ 23.

Conclusion

In sum, a dentist can avoid license sanctions and malpractice liability by providing dental care that complies with the standard of care. Because the science of dentistry continues to evolve, the standard of care can be a moving target. Therefore dentists must stay up to date with the accepted standards of the profession, and then practice within those standards.