Florida Board Reprimands Dentist After State Says Patient Swallowed a Hand File During a Root Canal Without a Rubber Dam

Edited by Dentaltown staff

A patient swallowed a hand file in the middle of a root canal, and the dentist’s insurer later paid that patient $228,000, according to the Florida Department of Health. Now the Florida Board of Dentistry has reprimanded the dentist, fined him, and ordered him to complete in-person endodontic training at a Florida dental school.

Dr. David Dudzinski has held a Florida dental license since October 2022. The department’s administrative complaint says he began root canal treatment on a patient’s tooth 19 on or about July 27, 2023, without using a rubber dam, and that the patient swallowed a hand file he was using during the procedure.

The complaint argues that the minimum standard of care requires a rubber dam during root canal treatment. It says the dam isolates the tooth and reduces the risk of a patient swallowing instruments or the chemicals used to clean the canals.

About a year after the procedure, on or about July 19, 2024, Dudzinski’s insurance carrier paid the patient $228,000 on his behalf, according to the complaint. Under Florida law, any single indemnity over $25,000 paid because of a dentist’s negligent conduct counts as dental malpractice and is grounds for discipline.

The complaint doesn’t describe what happened to the patient after the file was swallowed.

The department filed the complaint Sept. 16, 2025. Dudzinski first denied the allegations and asked for a hearing on disputed facts. He later signed a settlement agreement, dated Dec. 9, 2025, in which he neither admits nor denies the allegations.

The complaint had listed possible penalties ranging from a reprimand up to permanent revocation of his license. The board approved the settlement at an Aug. 14 meeting in Lutz, Florida, and the final order was filed Aug. 31.

Under the order, Dudzinski received a reprimand and must pay a $7,500 fine within 90 days and $6,746.59 in investigation and prosecution costs within 180 days. Within 12 months, he must complete in-person continuing education in endodontics and root canal treatment, at Level III, at or through an accredited Florida college of dentistry. Home-study courses won’t count.

The training requirement has a catch. If he can’t demonstrate competency at that level, he’ll be barred from performing those procedures until he completes remediation. He also has to pass Florida’s Laws and Rules exam within 12 months, and he can’t serve as a qualified monitor for other dentists until he has met every term of the order.

Dudzinski was represented by Tampa attorney Damien Hoffman, according to the order.

Sources:
Florida Department of Health, License Verification, David Dudzinski, license DN27574, including the Administrative Complaint filed Sept. 16, 2025, and the Board of Dentistry Final Order Accepting Settlement Agreement filed Aug. 31, 2026, Case No. 2024-34359: https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/HealthCareProviders/LicenseVerification?LicInd=27161&ProCde=701