A Glendale dentist is one step closer to losing his practicing license after the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners said he continued to do dental surgeries despite practice restrictions put in place after one of his patient died.

Dr. Sergio Gomes De Souza, practicing dentist and owner of North Canyon Dentistry in Glendale, is facing a license revocation hearing after the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners said he continued to perform dental surgery even though the board suspended him from performing all teeth extractions and implants.  The state regulators found Dr. Souza in violation of an agreement he signed.

Dr. Souza has been licensed in Arizona since 2015 and is the owner of the west valley dental office for the last several years. Back in March of 2023 he was called before the board after one of his patients died after getting anesthesia during a dental procedure.

The patient reportedly had an extensive heart condition that the board ruled Dr. Souza “failed to understand the severity of the patient’s significant heart failure.” The board, in a written order, said that the doctor should have referred the patient to an oral or maxillofacial surgery setting or used a separate anesthesia provider that included cardiac monitoring and that Dr. Souza should have avoided using five drugs to sedate the patient.

After the case hearing, the board signed an order which put the dentist on a probation period and prohibited Dr. Souza from administering anesthesia to patients for at least a year and ordered him to take several hours of continuing education. He was forbidden from doing surgery, teeth extractions and implants for six months.

Apparently Dr. Souza felt he was above the board’s orders and continued  to perform procedures that he was on probation for. During late 2023, the board received a complaint that Dr. Souza was still performing teeth extractions and implants, after one patient he treated accidentally swallowed a “driver,” which is a dental tool used to place and tighten implants.

He told the board that the patient appeared to be fine after the procedure, and he asked the patient to get an X-ray to make sure. However, accusations have been made that Dr. Souza did not inform the patient of the situation and it was only after the patient left the procedure that he had someone from his front office call and report the serious situation to his patient.

According to board and court records, this wasn’t the first time this has happened to one of his patients.

In 2020, a patient sued Dr. Souza after he said a dental screwdriver dropped down his throat while undergoing an implant procedure to replace an abscessed tooth.

According to a lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, that patient required surgery to have the tool removed.  The lawsuit alleges Dr. Souza was negligent and acted below the standard of care. Dr. Souza denied the allegations, but later made a settlement offer to the patient, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit.

The board reviewed the complaint, but did not act with any 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 Dr. Souza somewhat of a slap on the wrist pass issuing him a letter of concern, which is a non-disciplinary action.

Fast forward to December 2023 at the board meeting with Dr. Souza and his attorney, the board issued much stronger words for the dentist.

“You’re blatantly putting the Arizona public in jeopardy,” said Dr. Russell Morrow, a dentist and member of the dental board, to Dr. Souza at a the meeting where the board discussed his case.

When questioned further, Dr. Souza admitted to the board he had probably done five prohibited procedures, though he did say he couldn’t remember precisely.

Before the board, Dr. Souza said, “I am extremely embarrassed, I’m extremely ashamed of what I did. I don’t have a good excuse for you.”

The Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners had issued a board order which was not only disregarded by the dentist, the only reason they found out what had occurred was secondhand after the complaint was filed. Dr. Souza made no attempt to inform the board of the situation prior to the complaint being filed.

The board voted to direct Dr. 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.

A date for Dr. Souza’s revocation hearing has not yet been set.

Seven Arizona dentists have had patients die after anesthesia procedures since 2018. Two of those dentists, Dr. Souza and Dr. Thomas Endicott – have had their licenses suspended from practicing while the board moves forward with revoking their licenses.

Endicott is in the middle of his revocation hearing on his license after a woman died in his dental chair in 2021. His revocation hearing is expected to resume in February.