A second Valley dentist is at risk of losing his license after state regulators said he continued to perform dental procedures despite 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 perform tooth extractions and implants, violating an agreement he signed with state regulators.
“You are blatantly putting the Arizona public at risk,” 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, appeared 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 had previously been called before the board after one of his patients died last March following 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 room or used a separate anesthesia provider that included cardiac monitoring, the panel said in a written order.
The board said De Souza should have avoided using five drugs to sedate the patient.
After hearing the case, the board signed an order barring 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 performing tooth extractions and implants for six months.
The board then said it received a complaint that De Souza was still performing tooth extractions and implants.
“I am extremely embarrassed,” De Souza told the board at its October meeting. “I am very ashamed of what I did. I don’t have a good excuse for you.”
When questioned further, he told the board that he probably did about five prohibited procedures, although he could not remember exactly.
“We issued a board order — which was not only ignored — the only reason we found it was ignored was second-hand,” said Dr. Anthony Herro, president of the dental board, at the meeting.
This was not the only concern of the board. A patient who was not supposed to heal swallowed a dental tool called a “guide,” which is a dental tool used to place and tighten implants.
“Did a disk drive fall into the patient’s neck?” asked Dr. Lisa Bienstock, a dentist and board vice president.
“Yes,” De Souza said.
He told the board that the patient seemed to be fine after the procedure, and repeatedly followed up and asked the patient to take 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 fell into his neck while undergoing an implant procedure to replace an abscess in 2020.
The man had to undergo 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 charges. Court records say De Souza later made settlement offers to the patient, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit at the parties’ request.
Dental board records show the patient also filed a complaint with the board.
The board reviewed the complaint in 2022, but took no disciplinary action after the board’s investigator, Dr. John Dovgan, informed the council that what happened “is extremely rare” and did not fall below the standard of care. The board gave De Souza a letter of concern, which is a non-disciplinary action, due to a lack of record keeping.
Fast forward to the December 2023 board meeting where the board had much sharper words for the dentist.
“These are really difficult decisions that we have to make,” said Dr. Russell Morrow, a member of the dental board who is also a dentist. “We have to weigh years of public service, going to dental school, owning 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 hear the evidence and make a recommendation to the board regarding discipline.
De Souza declined to speak to ABC15 after the board’s decision. His attorney, Jefferson Hayden, spoke briefly, saying:
“We are not going to give a formal response to any of the council’s decisions today,” he said. “We will let the (Office of Administrative Hearings) process proceed. But we respect the board’s process and the attention they’ve given to this matter.”
He declined further comment.
No date has been set for De Souza’s revocation hearing.
As of 2018, seven Arizona dentists had patients die after anesthesia procedures, according to a review of public documents by ABC15. All of these dentists are still licensed, although some have practice restrictions. Two of these dentists – De Souza and Dr. Thomas Endicott – have been suspended from practice while the board takes steps to revoke their license.
Endicott is in the midst of a hearing to revoke his license after a woman died in his dental chair in 2021. He has repeatedly declined to speak to ABC15. His recall hearing is expected to resume in February after he requested a continuance.
Email ABC15 reporter Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345 or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
