An Arizona dentist, who is facing a disciplinary hearing on his license after a woman died in his chair, has red flags in his background dating back 20 years.
Dr. Thomas Endicott pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and overprescribing narcotics in Michigan in 2005, according to court records.
He also pleaded guilty the same year to attempted criminal sexual conduct after a female employee said he pinched her on the buttocks. He had to register as a sex offender because of that charge wherever he lived.
He lost his dental licenses in Michigan and Illinois as a result of the criminal charges. But he got a second chance when, in 2012, the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners licensed him in Arizona.
So how did Endicott get licensed?
Records show Endicott disclosed his criminal history to the Arizona dental board in his application, writing a three-page letter and appearing before the board to plead his case.
“I’ve paid all my debts to society,” he told the board in an October 2012 public meeting. “I moved out here, and I’d like to start a new life and begin again.”
His attorney at the time, Jeffrey Tonner, gave the board details on Endicott’s misdemeanor sexual offense.
“It's not like he's a child molester or anything. This was for the allegation of pinching an assistant in the buttocks,” he said.
In his letter to the board, Endicott wrote he was accused of pinching a female employee because she wasn’t wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day.
Under Arizona law, the dental board could have denied Endicott a license because of his criminal convictions and because he lost his dental license in other states.
“I'm very uncomfortable with this person, I would recommend we not grant him licensure,” said Dr. Robert H. Foster, a dentist and board member. And the board initially did just that, denying Endicott an Arizona license.
But he appealed and was granted a license.
None of those members are still on the dental board.
It wasn’t long before Endicott had to appear before the board again.
In his second year in practice in Arizona, the board disciplined him after a patient complained that a root canal damaged her tooth. That same year, the board disciplined him again for being late in completing his continuing education.
But details on those early board actions aren’t available to consumers on the dental board’s website. That’s because of a state law that requires health boards to post just five years’ worth of board actions on their websites. Anything further back has to be specifically requested from the board.
Scott Eldredge, a medical malpractice lawyer in Arizona, who is not involved in this case, is critical of that law.
“If the state had required this dentist to report that information - in a spot where the consumer could gain access to it - no one would choose someone with a background like that,” he said.
“Why would you? When you have so many other well-qualified dentists that don't have that sort of mark on their record.”
Endicott hung up the phone twice when reached by ABC15 for comment. His attorney, David Williams, did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment.
Dental board records show Endicott listed 13 different dental offices where he worked over the years.
In 2018, he failed to inform the board that he was arrested for not having a current address on file as a sex offender. The board ordered him to take ethics training.
A few years later, in 2021, one of his patients died after a dental procedure.
During a board review of that procedure, a board investigator said a 72-year-old woman was undergoing a procedure to remove a dozen teeth for upper and lower dentures.
The investigator said the patient had difficulty breathing after being given anesthesia. She lost consciousness. Dr. Endicott gave her CPR. Paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital but she was dead on arrival.
Dr. John Dovgan, a dentist and the board’s chief investigator, told the board there was a failure to identify a cardiac medical emergency and a failure to put oxygen on the patient.
Board members expressed concerns about Endicott’s attempts to resuscitate the patient. Endicott told the board he was CPR-certified. When questioned, he said he used five chest compressions to two breaths.
Arizona Dental Board President Anthony Herro told Endicott the ratio for one person giving CPR is 30 compressions to two breaths.
Williams, Endicott’s attorney, called the death “an unfortunate event.”
“It’s our position Dr. Endicott appropriately managed the patient’s care and treatment as he tried to walk through an emergent situation,” he told the board.
At the time of that board meeting, in June 2022, Endicott he said left that dental office about two weeks after the patient’s death. He said he hadn’t practiced dentistry in Arizona in more than a year. But he said he had some job interviews and, “I think there’s something in the works.”
Board members discussed doing an emergency suspension of his license. But Endicott agreed to refrain from practicing in Arizona for the time being. He later signed an agreement with the board that prohibits him from practicing in Arizona until the outcome of his disciplinary case.
The board earlier this year tried to go a step further, offering Endicott a disciplinary surrender of his license. He declined.
The board is now moving toward a formal hearing for the revocation of Endicott’s license. A hearing date is expected to be set soon.
This brings us to Utah, where Endicott currently has a dental license free of restrictions. Records with the Utah Department of Commerce say he has been licensed there since 2016.
Investigative Reporter Nate Carlisle, who is with Scripps station FOX 13 Utah, caught up with him recently at a dental office in a Salt Lake City suburb.
He declined to comment.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
