AUGUSTA — The Maine Board of Dental Practice has scheduled a hearing Friday, Sept. 29, on whether Dr. Jan Kippax should be allowed to practice in Maine.
The board suspended the Lewiston oral surgeon’s license last winter and issued a preliminary finding that he had “put the health and safety of his patients and staff in immediate jeopardy” and if allowed to continue “in his reckless and harmful way” patients would “suffer dire consequences.”
Thirty days later, after failing to hold a hearing on the charges, state law required that it give him back his license. This summer, Kippax began to practice dentistry again at his Main Street office in Lewiston.
The unidentified patients who filed complaints about Kippax told the dental board a range of gruesome allegations that included charges he pulled excess teeth, failed to provide pain medicine and did little or nothing to control bleeding.
Kippax has denied that he mistreated patients and vowed to fight to keep his license.
The board will hold a hearing on the complaints lodged against Kippax starting at 9 a.m. at its office at 161 Capitol St. in Augusta.
The state Attorney General’s Office acts as a sort of prosecutor in these types of cases while the dental board serves as a jury. Its members said in August they could act impartially based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing.
The board has the power to censure or fine Kippax as well as stripping him of his right to practice his profession in Maine. Kippax is also licensed in Massachusetts and Vermont.
One member, Nancy Foster, isn’t allowed to participate because she served as an investigator on the initial complaints against Kippax. At least five members of the panel must be available to hear the case.
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