Dentist loses license after 30 complaints, prior sanctions for sexual impropriety

An Iowa dentist who has been the subject of 30 past complaints has lost his license over allegations of repeated sexual impropriety with patients.

The dentist, Phelan Thomas, 66, of West Des Moines, IA, alleged he was the victim of "Karens" -- a derogatory term often used to describe entitled females -- and racism.

On January 27, 2023, the Iowa Dental Board charged Thomas with improper sexual contact with, or making suggestive, lewd, lascivious, or improper remarks to, a patient or a coworker; unprofessional or unethical conduct; and failing to comply with an order of the board.

It was not the first time Thomas faced charges from the board. In 2018, he was accused of failing to maintain a satisfactory standard of competency; making improper sexual contact with, or making suggestive remarks to, a patient or coworker; and failing to comply with standard precautions for preventing and controlling infectious disease. As part of a settlement on those charges, Thomas' license was placed on probation for five years.

As part of his probation, Thomas was initially barred from being alone with female patients -- although the board subsequently decided he could be alone with female patients as long as he had a baby monitor in his operatory with his office manager listening in. The board also required his staff to submit "surveillance forms" to the board indicating whether Thomas treated patients in a professional manner.

In 2021 and 2022, two patients filed complaints regarding Thomas, with both alleging that he made inappropriate comments and disregarded their concerns regarding their dental care.

Patient K.G. complained that when she saw Thomas to have veneers placed on her teeth, he sarcastically commented, "I hope these make you more attractive," and "You are so ugly, hopefully, this will make it a little bit better." K.G. later complained the veneers made her teeth "really, really big," with one tooth jutting out from the others.

In March 2021, K.G. returned to Thomas' office to have the veneers fixed. She later complained that during the visit, Thomas was "very rude and very condescending," insisting that he was an expert and that she didn't know what she was talking about.

When she began crying, Thomas allegedly said, "We're going to cancel this if you don't stop crying because I can't work on you if you're going emotional," according to board records. When the procedure was completed, the board alleged, he kissed K.G. on the cheek and stated, "You know I really wish you didn't have a boyfriend, so I could invite you over to my house and show you all the books and journals around my bed."

When K.G. later expressed dissatisfaction with the repair work, Thomas issued her a full refund and she had the work completed by another dentist. K.G. then complained to the board, which was already aware of the issue due to a surveillance form submitted by one of Thomas' staff members.

In speaking to board investigators, Thomas denied inviting K.G. to his home and alleged the complaints were motivated by "Karens" and by racial bias, as he was considered an "African American in this community."

In October 2022, patient K.R. sought treatment from Thomas to have four teeth bonded. After the procedure, K.R. was not satisfied, believing the work made her teeth look "bulky." After additional work, K.R. reiterated her concerns, to which Thomas allegedly replied, "This is how it's supposed to look … I can't fix it."

According to the board, Thomas asked the 29-year-old K.R. about her mother, specifically whether her mother was as beautiful as K.R. was, and whispered and talked softly as if to prevent anyone from overhearing his comments.

During a subsequent visit, K.R. brought her mother along to advocate for her and later complained to the board that Thomas flirted with her mother, telling her, "Oh, you're beautiful and athletic." In a later visit, he allegedly placed his head on K.R.'s head and whispered to her that her mother was beautiful. Thomas also was alleged to have pulled K.R. into a corner while asking her about her mother.

Thomas later issued a refund to K.R. and she had the work completed by another dentist, according to the board.

In addition to charging Thomas for his conduct with K.G. and K.R., the Iowa Dental Board also alleged that while Thomas was on probation, he repeatedly failed to submit the required monthly surveillance forms and pay quarterly fees related to his probation.

Three months ago, the board held a two-day hearing on the matter. At the hearing, Thomas denied any wrongdoing, but the board recently ruled that K.G. and K.R. were credible witnesses and voted to revoke Thomas' license.

Thomas argued that the fact that he has been the focus of 30 complaints during his 38 years of practice should not be considered by the board since some of those complaints were the product of racism.

"The board has no doubt that Dr. Thomas has suffered from racism during his 38 years of practicing dentistry," the board stated in its ruling, acknowledging that it had closed many of the complaints without taking any action against him. However, the board added, it was revoking Thomas' license not because of the 30 complaints, but because of his conduct with K.G. and K.R.

"Dr. Thomas engaged in sexual conduct and repeatedly made improper remarks to K.G. such as inviting her to his bedroom to see journals, commenting on having to sew her jeans, and most egregiously, kissing her on her cheek," the board ruled. "In addition, Dr. Thomas interacted with K.R. in a flirtatious manner that made her feel uncomfortable."

This article was originally published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch and republished by DrBicuspid under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence.

Deputy Editor Clark Kauffman has worked during the past 30 years as both an investigative reporter and editorial writer at two of Iowa's largest newspapers, the Des Moines Register and the Quad-City Times.