In the highly litigious society in which we practice, situations all too frequently arise in which a dentist and a patient disagree. The disagreement may be as minor as a misunderstanding regarding fees charged for services rendered, or as substantial as that resulting from an injury secondary to dental treatment. Regardless of the exact nature of the incident, it nonetheless may result in the filing of a complaint by the aggrieved patient with the state board of dentistry against the treating clinician. This article explains the process leading to the resolution of a complaint.