Dental Assistant Suspended For Repeatedly Abusing Nitrous Oxide

EDMONDS, WA - For repeatedly abusing nitrous oxide at the dental offices where she was employed, and for failing to comply with the conditions of previous license suspensions imposed by the Washington Department of Health, a former Snohomish County-based dental assistant has once again had her dental assistance credentials summarily suspended.

Jennifer Mikele Compton, 44, of Edmonds, has 20 days to respond to the most recent charges filed against her. Until then, she is prohibited from practicing as a dental assistant anywhere in the state.

A record of infractions provided by the Department of Health show Compton has a sordid history of abusing nitrous oxide beginning a few years after she was first licensed July 23, 2008.

The first instance logged shows Compton in February 2011 was caught ordering excess quantities of nitrous oxide for the dental office where she worked, which she was reportedly unauthorized to do. In March, she was caught by another employee while in the act of abusing nitrous.

After she was counseled for her behavior, Compton resigned from her position a few days later, documents show.

The following month, Compton was reportedly caught again abusing nitrous at a different dental office.

In September 2011, upon request from the Department of Health, Compton acknowledged she'd been caught abusing nitrous three separate times at different dental practices. Her license was formally suspended the first time on March 2, 2012.

As part of her probationary suspension at that time, Compton was required to participate in a monitoring program if she wanted to get her license back, documents show. However, Compton reportedly failed her probationary requirements in April, June, and September of that year before she stopped checking in with the probation officials altogether.

In July 2014, Compton's license was officially suspended without the possibility of appeal for 12 months, documents show. During that time, the Department of Health reportedly learned Compton not only failed to remain sober, but she also worked for a Seattle-area dental practice while her license was suspended.

Whether that practice was held accountable for employing Compton is unknown.

Documents show Compton also continued to represent herself as a licensed dental assistant on social media, including LinkedIn.

On July 21, 2017, Compton successfully renewed her license with the state.

However, just shy of a year later, on July 5, 2018, Compton was caught once again abusing nitrous at the practice where she worked. And to add insult to injury, she was caught again Sept. 24 — about a week after admitting to the first deviation.

On Thursday, the Department of Health announced it had again suspended Compton's license.

Click here to see all documents associated with this case.

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