VERNAL — A Kearns woman pleaded no contest on Wednesday in Vernal's 8th District Court to a single count of attempting to practice dentistry without a license.
Melanie Vigil, 31, entered her plea to the misdemeanor as part of a deal with Uintah County prosecutors. She was originally charged with three counts of unprofessional conduct for practicing dentistry without a license, all third-degree felonies.
"She denies it still and her attorney, in our conversations, has made claims that there's some level of vindictiveness on the dentist's part," said Uintah Deputy County Attorney Mark Thomas last week. "But we've got this settled, so it really doesn't matter. The state's not really interested in any more vigorous of a prosecution."
Charges were filed against Vigil, who also uses the last name Marusich, in December 2004 after an investigation by the Uintah County Sheriff's Office and the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) turned up evidence that Vigil, a dental office manager, had allegedly been providing after-hours dental services to friends, family and co-workers.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Vigil asked a co-worker for help with a root canal Vigil planned to perform on an uncle.
The co-worker told investigators she refused to help Vigil, telling the defendant "she (Vigil) was not a dentist and could not perform a root canal." Another co-worker said that she observed Vigil using a high-speed dental drill to work on her daughter's teeth.
Darel Nelson hired Vigil to manage his Vernal office, where she worked for about a year. A dentist for 30 years, Nelson said Vigil is a "walking textbook," adding that he would trust her to care for his teeth "if it wasn't against the law."
"Her IQ is about double mine, and she can talk so fast I can't even think," said the dentist, who admitted his practice and his marriage have suffered as a result of the investigation into Vigil. "As smart as she is, she could probably do whatever I did and be pretty good at it."
Vigil's attorney, Carl Buckland, said Nelson's comments are indicative of an office run amok, an office where he claims Vigil was asked to perform tasks reserved for licensed dental professionals. His client's refusal to do what the dentist asked caused problems with her employer and her co-workers, he said.
"The fact that the dentist would say, 'I'd have her fill a tooth myself,' tells me that the dentist obviously saw that she had abilities," said Buckland after court on Wednesday. "There were enormous frictions in that office."
The state Dental Licensing Board confirmed that Nelson has been counseled in what bureau manager Daniel T. Jones called an "educational interview."
"He was told by the board that he needs to do some training in practice operations, and it wouldn't hurt if he were to bring in a professional practice manager," said Jones. "We told him he needs to decide if he wants to be the captain of the ship or not."
Under the terms of her plea deal, the criminal charge against Vigil will be dropped after one year if she pays $300, commits no new criminal violations and signs an order with DOPL promising not to practice dentistry in the future.
Buckland said his client is currently employed as an office manager for a "very substantial" dental practice in the Salt Lake area.