A Coralville, IA, dentist charged with repeatedly performing expensive, unnecessary dental procedures on patients will retain his license, subject to two years of disciplinary probation.
In March 2025, the Iowa Dental Board charged Dr. Jefferey Rubel, 63, of the Coral West Dental clinic, with knowingly making misleading, deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in the practice of dentistry; unprofessional or unethical conduct; and failure to maintain a reasonably satisfactory standard of competency in the practice of dentistry.
According to the board, Rubel diagnosed a patient with periodontal disease and performed scaling and root planing with ongoing periodontal maintenance. The patient later visited another provider who allegedly indicated the patient had no signs of periodontal disease that would have required the treatment performed by Rubel.
A separate patient had similar complaints, the board alleged. That patient indicated that Rubel told her she had “periodontal disease requiring expensive treatment” and that if she didn’t have the treatment, she could have a stroke, heart attack, or other serious illness. The patient opted to have the work performed but later consulted another dentist who allegedly indicated she had no periodontal disease.
A board consultant reviewed 11 patient files from Rubel’s practice and concluded there was evidence of a “repeated practice of overdiagnosis, particularly in young, healthy patients with no evidence of the severe periodontal disease” Rubel had diagnosed.
The available board records provide no information as to when the alleged wrongdoing occurred but indicate the board’s investigation was initiated in 2022.
To resolve the case, the Iowa Dental Board has agreed to a settlement with Rubel that calls for his license to be placed on probation for two years. Rubel will also be required to complete a board-approved remedial education program and complete some form of board-approved course on ethics.
During the probationary period, a practice monitor will review 25 of Rubel’s patient files each month and provide the board with quarterly reports.
No fines or financial penalties were imposed as a result of the settlement agreement.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Rubel for comment. The Coral West Dental website states that Rubel has been serving the Coralville community for over 30 years and is “dedicated to running a practice based on the highest standards and integrity.”
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.
