Professionalism and Professional Standards for Dentists in Saudi Arabia

At a glance

The concerns this course addresses

How to respond to a complaint about this kind of concern

A concern about scope, fees, advertising or infection control can feel like an attack on your skill. It is more useful to treat it as a request for a clear account of one event and of what has changed. These steps keep your response factual and complete.

1. Take advice and note every deadline

   Contact your malpractice insurer, your clinic's medical director or a lawyer before you reply. Record any deadline in the letter and ask early if you need more time. Notify your insurer in line with your policy conditions.

   In the course: Section 4 covers insurance and the first days after an incident; Section 9 of the process explains what your adviser is preparing you for.

2. Identify the exact rule that applied

   Decide whether the concern engages scope, registration, fees, advertising, supervision or infection control, then read the relevant article, regulation or manual section in full rather than a summary.

   In the course: Sections 2 to 8 set out each rule with its source, from Article 9 on scope to the MOH manual on sterilisation.

3. Check the records before you write

   Gather your licence record, Mumaris Plus status, insurance schedule, estimates, charting, cycle logs or consent forms as they stood at the time. Do not alter any original entry.

   In the course: Sections 3, 4 and 5 show which records matter and how to keep them.

4. Write a factual account and own your part

   Say what happened, when, your role and what you did, without blaming the owner, an assistant or the patient. Acknowledge the effect on the patient and, where relevant, on the team.

   In the course: Section 4 covers honest accounts after harm; Section 11 gives a reflective model.

5. Show what has changed, with evidence

   List each change, when it began and how it is checked. Attach what you can: a revised estimate template, corrected profile screenshots, an audit, a signed supervision list or monthly infection control notes.

   In the course: Section 11 helps you write dated actions and decide what evidence to keep.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Before you answer your clinic, MOH, the Violations Committee or the Sharia Health Panel, speak to your malpractice insurer, your clinic's legal office or a lawyer.

How this course helps with a complaint or investigation

• It links each duty to its source

  Many replies say a dentist now understands the importance of the rules. Few name the article or manual section, what it requires and why. The course teaches that link so your account shows understanding.

• It turns habits into checks

  Dated reminders, estimate audits, pack inspections and intern call lists are small, checkable systems. Using them gives you something concrete to show beyond a promise.

• It structures your reflection

  The final section walks through what happened, what the standard requires, what you learned and what you now do, in an order that suits a statement to a clinic or committee.

• It matches remediation to the cause

  Learning suits a knowledge gap, supervision suits judgement and a changed process suits a system failure. The course helps you choose and evidence each.

Remediation evidence that carries weight

A remediation plan, phase by phase

1. Weeks 1-2

   Advice, facts and the right rule

   • Speak to your insurer or a lawyer and note every deadline.
   • Write a private chronology from the records, not memory alone.
   • Identify the article or manual section that applied and read it in full.

2. Weeks 2-6

   Understand the standard

   • Complete this course and note which sections the event engages.
   • Mark yourself secure, needs attention or priority on each self-review area.
   • Before it is shared with anyone, write a first version of your reflective account and go through it with your adviser.

3. Weeks 6-12

   Change practice and show it

   • Put the specific fix in place, such as itemised estimates, corrected profiles or a pack inspection routine.
   • Ask a senior colleague with no conflict to review a sample of your plans or records.
   • Collect dated, anonymised examples of the change in use.

4. Months 3-12

   Sustain and review

   • Add a measurable standards goal to your CPD plan.
   • Repeat an audit of estimates or sterilisation logs at set intervals.
   • Update your reflection at six months with what has and has not worked.

Writing your reflective statement

1. Describe the event

   Without naming or identifying anyone, describe the events, the timing, the part you played and how it ended.

   Example only: As a general dentist in a Dammam clinic, I fitted three veneers for a patient after a coordinator described her discolouration as enamel damage; my chart recorded no such finding.

2. Name the pressures in play

   Say which commercial or practical pressures pulled against the standard and how you weighed them.

   Example only: I gave weight to the clinic's monthly target and to the patient's wish for a quick result, and too little to whether the veneers were needed.

3. Identify the standard

   Name the article, Code chapter or manual section and explain why it exists.

   Example only: Article 9 bars unnecessary procedures because veneers remove enamel permanently, and the Code bars exploiting a patient's lack of dental knowledge.

4. Acknowledge the impact

   Describe the effect on the patient, the team and trust in the clinic.

   Example only: The patient lost enamel she could not regain and told her family, so the clinic's name now carries doubt in her neighbourhood.

5. Explain what you learned

   State what you had stopped checking or did not know, and how your understanding changed.

   Example only: I had treated the coordinator's script as a sales matter. I now see that my plan is my professional opinion and that I answer for every sentence said in its name.

6. Describe the changes and how they are kept

   List specific changes, start dates and checks.

   Example only: Since June I explain options to each patient myself, and our clinical director reviews five of my plans with radiographs every month.

The example sentences are fictional and show structure only. Your account has to be your own honest description.

A weak and a strong response, side by side

Illustrative case. A general dentist in a private clinic in Tabuk places two implants for a patient after a short industry course, although his SCFHS classification is general dentist and the clinic has granted him no surgical privileges. One implant fails, and the patient complains through 937 that she was never told he was new to implants.

Why the second one works: The strong response names the rule, accepts the effect on the patient and describes specific, checkable changes. The weak response relies on the owner, the signed form and past success, and offers only a promise that could be repeated.

Mistakes practitioners make when responding

The rules this course works through

References are to the Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions and its Executive Regulations, the SCFHS Code and MOH guidance, as covered in the course.

• Arts. 2 and 9

  Licence and scope

  No practice without an MOH licence, which requires SCFHS registration, and no work outside your specialty except in emergencies. Unnecessary procedures are also barred.

  In the course: Section 2 works through classification, licence and privileges.

• Art. 41

  Compulsory malpractice insurance

  Cooperative cover from a licensed insurer for physicians and dentists, needed to license or renew. If cover is missing or too low, the institution pays and may recover from you.

  In the course: Section 4 shows how to match cover to your work.

• Art. 10 and Reg. 9-1

  Advertising and titles

  No self-advertising beyond the Regulations, no unearned titles on signs, cards or adverts, and no commercial promotion lacking a scientific basis.

  In the course: Section 6 includes the MOH enforcement cases from 2024 to 2026.

• Art. 12

  Commissions and company benefits

  No rewards for steering patients to laboratories or hospitals and no benefits from drug or device companies. Fines of up to SAR 50,000 apply under Article 29.

  In the course: Sections 7 and 9 apply this to laboratories and referrals.

• Arts. 14 and 27

  Unlicensed staff and malpractice

  No employing unlicensed staff or issuing false reports. Poor supervision, misuse of equipment and failing to consult are listed forms of malpractice.

  In the course: Section 7 covers delegation and interns; Section 8 covers equipment.

• Art. 5 and Reg. 3-5

  Dignity and photographs

  Respect for the patient's life, safety and dignity, and no photographing or publishing procedures without written consent and facility approval.

  In the course: Sections 6 and 10 cover images and online conduct.

Also relevant: Art. 7 and Regs. 1-6 and 2-6 on keeping knowledge current; Art. 8 on emergency care; Arts. 17 and 18 on second opinions; Art. 21 on confidentiality; SCFHS Code Ch. 4, 8, 9 and 10; the MOH dental infection control manual; the PDPL.

How this applies in each dental setting

What happens after a complaint is made

A concern about a dentist's professional conduct may start in the clinic, through 937 or as a formal claim, and its route depends on whether harm is alleged. The stages below follow the Law and its Executive Regulations.

1. Complaint or claim

   A patient or family complains to the clinic or through 937, or a person harmed, their guardian or heirs file a private claim with the facility or regional health affairs director on the prescribed form.

2. Clinic review

   The clinic often looks first at complaints about fees, communication or infection control. It may ask for your account and records, so ask for the policy that applies to you.

3. Investigation

   A formal investigation takes your statement and prepares a committee report. It should finish within 30 days, extendable once by 30. You may be barred from travel for 30 days, extendable by 30, and you may object.

4. Referral or dismissal

   If the evidence is insufficient, dismissal may be recommended. Cases involving compensation, death or loss of an organ go to the Sharia Health Panel; other breaches, such as scope or advertising, go to the Violations Committee.

5. Hearing and decision

   The Sharia Health Panel is chaired by a judge with medical and legal members. The Violations Committee includes a legal specialist and a Saudi health professional. Notices are served through your employer, and electronic notices and hearings are allowed.

6. Appeal

   Decisions of the panel and the committee can be appealed to the Board of Grievances within 60 days of notification. A ministerial suspension can be appealed within 30 days.

Possible outcomes and what they mean for you

The penalties below are those stated in the Law. Which, if any, applies depends on the facts, and no course can decide or predict it.

If you have been asked to complete education

Using this course as CPD

Key terms explained

SCFHS

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, which classifies and registers practitioners and publishes the Code of Ethics.

Mumaris Plus

The SCFHS portal for classification, registration, re-registration and CPD recognition.

Seha

The MOH platform where the employing facility applies for, renews and transfers practitioner licences.

Classification

The SCFHS step that verifies qualifications and experience and assigns a profession, specialty and professional degree.

Facility privileges

The procedures a clinic's credentialing committee or medical director allows you to perform there.

Art. 41 cover

Compulsory cooperative malpractice insurance for physicians and dentists under the Law.

Spore test

Biological monitoring of a steriliser; a positive result takes it out of service under the MOH dental manual.

937

Complaints about health services are logged and followed up through the MOH service centre and its digital portal.

Committee for Violations of the Law

The body that hears breaches of the Law other than malpractice claims, such as advertising or scope.

Sharia Health Panel

A panel led by a judge hears claims for compensation, along with cases involving a death or the loss of an organ or its function.

How this course is written and kept current

Page updated 2 November 2026

Our editorial standardsAbout usDisclaimer

Primary sources

The laws, codes and pages this page and the course rely on. Always check the current text with the issuing body.

1. Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions (MOH English text)moh.gov.sa
2. Executive Regulations of the Law (MOH, Arabic)moh.gov.sa
3. SCFHS Code of Ethics for Healthcare Practitionersscfhs.org.sa
4. SCFHS re-registration requirementsscfhs.org.sa
5. SCFHS Mumaris Plus FAQscfhs.org.sa
6. SCFHS professional classification requirementsscfhs.org.sa
7. MOH healthcare licensing guide (Seha)static.moh.gov.sa
8. MOH 937 services (my.gov.sa)my.gov.sa
9. SDAIA guide to the Personal Data Protection Lawdgp.sdaia.gov.sa
10. MOH release on social media violations (November 2024)moh.gov.sa