Lang
1/30/25
A Swisher dentist is facing sanctions following the death of a patient.
According to Iowa Capitol Dispatch, last fall the Iowa Dental Board formally informed dentist Robert Wolf that it intended to deny his application for a permit to use moderate sedation on patients. Wolf recently appealed that notice, and a hearing is now scheduled for April 25th.
In its recently disclosed notice to Wolf, the board stated in January of last year that Wolf participated in dental surgery on a 50-year-old patient identified as “J.D.,” who died afterward. The board alleges Wolf participated in the surgery “with an individual who was not licensed to practice dentistry” and that he did so without having the required permit to use sedation.
The board also says its investigation into the case indicates Wolf “was the only dentist in the operating room on more than one occasion while an advanced registered nurse administered and monitored the anesthesia to J.D.”
Wolf, the board argued, “facilitated the practice of an unlicensed dentist and supervised the administration of anesthesia without having the proper credentials.” The available board documents do not identify the “unlicensed dentist.”
The board claims that Wolf finally applied for a sedation permit two weeks after the patient had already died.
Aside from the notice of intent to deny the permit application, the board has imposed no other public sanctions against Wolf.