A second Valley dentist is at risk of losing his license after state regulators said he continued to do dental surgeries despite practice restrictions put in place after a patient died.
Dr. Sergio Gomes De Souza is facing a license revocation hearing after the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners said he continued to do teeth extractions and implants, a violation of an agreement he signed with state regulators.
“You’re blatantly putting the Arizona public in jeopardy,” said Dr. Russell Morrow, a dentist and member of the dental board, to De Souza at a recent meeting where the board discussed his case.
De Souza, who has been licensed in Arizona since 2015, looked uncomfortable as he and his attorney sat in front of the board that regulates dentists.
It was not his first appearance before the board.
He was called before the board previously after one of his patients died last March after getting anesthesia during a dental procedure.
The board said De Souza “failed to understand the severity of the patient’s significant heart failure.” He also should have referred the man to an oral or maxillofacial surgery setting or used a separate anesthesia provider that included cardiac monitoring, the board said in a written order.
The board said De Souza should have avoided using five drugs to sedate the patient.
After reviewing the case, the board signed an order, prohibiting De Souza from administering anesthesia to patients for at least a year and requiring him to take several hours of continuing education. He was banned from doing teeth extractions and implants for six months.
The board then said it received a complaint that De Souza was still doing teeth extractions and implants.
“I am extremely embarrassed,” De Souza told the board in its October meeting. “I'm extremely ashamed of what I did. I don't have a good excuse for you.”
When questioned further, he told the board he probably did about five prohibited procedures, though he couldn’t remember precisely.
“We gave a board order -- which was not only disregarded -- the only reason we found out that it was disregarded was secondhand,” said Dr. Anthony Herro, president of the dental board, at the meeting.
That wasn’t the board’s only concern. One patient he wasn’t supposed to be treating swallowed a dental tool called a “driver,” which is a dental tool used to place and tighten implants.
“Did a drive fall down the patient’s throat?” asked Dr. Lisa Bienstock, a dentist and the board’s vice president.
“Yes,” De Souza said.
He told the board that the patient appeared to be fine after the procedure, and he repeatedly followed up and asked the patient to get an X-ray to make sure.
It wasn’t the first time, according to board and court records.
A patient sued De Souza after he said a dental screwdriver dropped down his throat while undergoing an implant procedure to replace an abscessed tooth in 2020.
The man had to have surgery to remove the tool, according to a lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges De Souza was negligent and acted below the standard of care. De Souza denied the allegations. Court records say De Souza later made settlement offers to the patient, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit at the request of the parties.
Dental board records show the patient also filed a complaint with the board.
The board reviewed the complaint in 2022 but didn’t take disciplinary action after the board’s investigator, Dr. John Dovgan, advised the board that what happened “is extremely rare” and didn’t fall below the standard of care. The board gave De Souza a letter of concern, which is a non-disciplinary action, for lack of record keeping.
Fast forward to the board’s December 2023 meeting, where the board had much sharper words for the dentist.
“These are really difficult decisions we have to make,” said Dr. Russell Morrow, a dental board member who is also a dentist. “We have to weigh years of public service, going to dental school, having a business, all the other stuff.”
The board voted to send De Souza to a revocation hearing, where an administrative hearing officer with the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings will listen to evidence and make a recommendation to the board on discipline.
De Souza declined to talk to ABC15 after the board’s decision. His attorney, Jefferson Hayden, spoke briefly, saying:
“We’re not going to make a formal response to any determinations by the board today,” he said. “We’ll let the (Office of Administrative Hearings) process run its course. But we respect the board’s process and the attention they’ve given this matter.”
He declined further comment.
A date for De Souza’s revocation hearing has not been set.
Since 2018, seven Arizona dentists have had patients die after anesthesia procedures, according to a review of public documents by ABC15. All those dentists are still licensed, though some have practice restrictions. Two of those dentists – De Souza and Dr. Thomas Endicott – are suspended from practicing while the board takes steps to revoke their licenses.
Endicott is in the midst of a revocation hearing on his license after a woman died in his dental chair in 2021. He has repeatedly declined to talk to ABC15. His revocation hearing is expected to resume in February after he asked for a continuance.
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.
