Senate Bill sb2574
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2574
By Senator Atwater
25-1184-05
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to dentistry; amending s.
3 466.004, F.S.; limiting the time a member may
4 serve on the Board of Dentistry; amending s.
5 466.006, F.S.; clarifying examination
6 provisions; amending s. 466.007, F.S.; reducing
7 the postsecondary education required to take
8 the licensing examination; amending s.
9 466.0135, F.S.; authorizing the board to
10 authorize a continuing education
11 practice-management course; amending s.
12 466.021, F.S.; increasing the time that certain
13 work orders must be retained; amending s.
14 466.025, F.S.; providing for the board to issue
15 temporary certificates to certain unlicensed
16 persons practicing in government facilities;
17 providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 466.004, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 466.004 Board of Dentistry.--
24 (1) To carry out the provisions of this chapter, there
25 is created within the department the Board of Dentistry
26 consisting of 11 members who shall be appointed by the
27 Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate. Seven
28 members of the board must be licensed dentists actively
29 engaged in the clinical practice of dentistry in this state;
30 two members must be licensed dental hygienists actively
31 engaged in the practice of dental hygiene in this state; and
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1 the remaining two members must be laypersons who are not, and
2 have never been, dentists, dental hygienists, or members of
3 any closely related profession or occupation. Each member of
4 the board who is a licensed dentist must have been actively
5 engaged in the practice of dentistry primarily as a clinical
6 practitioner for at least 5 years immediately preceding the
7 date of her or his appointment to the board and must remain
8 primarily in clinical practice during all subsequent periods
9 of appointment to the board. Each member of the board who is
10 connected in any way with any dental college or community
11 college must be in compliance with s. 456.007. At least one
12 member of the board must be 60 years of age or older. Members
13 shall be appointed for 4-year terms, but may serve no more
14 than a total of 10 years.
15 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 466.006, Florida
16 Statutes, is amended to read:
17 466.006 Examination of dentists.--
18 (4) Notwithstanding s. 456.017(1)(c), to be licensed
19 as a dentist in this state, an applicant must successfully
20 complete the following:
21 (a) A written examination on the laws and rules of the
22 state regulating the practice of dentistry;
23 (b)1. A practical or clinical examination, which shall
24 be administered and graded by dentists licensed in this state
25 and employed by the department for just such purpose. The
26 practical examination shall include:
27 a. Two restorations, and the board by rule shall
28 determine the class of such restorations and whether they
29 shall be performed on mannequins, live patients, or both. At
30 least one restoration shall be on a live patient;
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Florida Senate - 2005 SB 2574
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1 b. A demonstration of periodontal skills on a live
2 patient;
3 c. A demonstration of prosthetics and restorative
4 skills in complete and partial dentures and crowns and bridges
5 and the utilization of practical methods of evaluation,
6 specifically including the evaluation by the candidate of
7 completed laboratory products such as, but not limited to,
8 crowns and inlays filled to prepared model teeth;
9 d. A demonstration of restorative skills on a
10 mannequin which requires the candidate to complete procedures
11 performed in preparation for a cast restoration; and
12 e. A demonstration of endodontic skills.
13 2. The department shall consult with the board in
14 planning the times, places, physical facilities, training of
15 personnel, and other arrangements concerning the
16 administration of the examination. The board or a duly
17 designated committee thereof shall approve the final plans for
18 the administration of the examination.
19 3. If the applicant fails to pass the clinical
20 examination in three attempts, the applicant shall not be
21 eligible for reexamination unless she or he completes
22 additional educational requirements established by the board;
23 and
24 (c) A diagnostic skills examination demonstrating
25 ability to diagnose conditions within the human oral cavity
26 and its adjacent tissues and structures from photographs,
27 slides, radiographs, or models pursuant to rules of the board.
28 If an applicant fails to pass the diagnostic skills
29 examination in three attempts, the applicant shall not be
30 eligible for reexamination unless she or he completes
31 additional educational requirements established by the board.
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1 (d) The board may by rule provide for additional
2 procedures which are to be tested, provided such procedures
3 shall be common to the practice of general dentistry. The
4 board by rule shall determine the passing grade for each
5 procedure and the acceptable variation for examiners. No such
6 rule shall apply retroactively.
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8 The department shall require a mandatory standardization
9 exercise for all examiners prior to each practical or clinical
10 examination and shall retain for employment only those
11 dentists who have substantially adhered to the standard of
12 grading established at such exercise.
13 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
14 466.007, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 466.007 Examination of dental hygienists.--
16 (3) A graduate of a dental college or school shall be
17 entitled to take the examinations required in this section to
18 practice dental hygiene in this state if, in addition to the
19 requirements specified in subsection (2), the graduate meets
20 the following requirements:
21 (a) Submits the following credentials for review by
22 the board:
23 1. Transcripts totaling of predental education and
24 dental education totaling 5 academic years of postsecondary
25 education, including 4 academic years of postsecondary dental
26 education; and
27 2. A dental school diploma which is comparable to a
28 D.D.S. or D.M.D.
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30 Such credentials shall be submitted in a manner provided by
31 rule of the board. The board shall approve those credentials
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1 which comply with this paragraph and with rules of the board
2 adopted pursuant to this paragraph. The provisions of this
3 paragraph notwithstanding, an applicant of a foreign dental
4 college or school not accredited in accordance with s.
5 466.006(2)(b) who cannot produce the credentials required by
6 this paragraph, as a result of political or other conditions
7 in the country in which the applicant received his or her
8 education, may seek the board's approval of his or her
9 educational background by submitting, in lieu of the
10 credentials required in this paragraph, such other reasonable
11 and reliable evidence as may be set forth by board rule. The
12 board shall not accept such other evidence until it has made a
13 reasonable attempt to obtain the credentials required by this
14 paragraph from the educational institutions the applicant is
15 alleged to have attended, unless the board is otherwise
16 satisfied that such credentials cannot be obtained.
17 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 466.0135, Florida
18 Statutes, is amended to read:
19 466.0135 Continuing education; dentists.--
20 (1) In addition to the other requirements for renewal
21 set out in this chapter, each licensed dentist shall be
22 required to complete biennially not less than 30 hours of
23 continuing professional education in dental subjects. Programs
24 of continuing education shall be programs of learning that
25 contribute directly to the dental education of the dentist and
26 may include, but shall not be limited to, attendance at
27 lectures, study clubs, college postgraduate courses, or
28 scientific sessions of conventions; and research, graduate
29 study, teaching, or service as a clinician. Programs of
30 continuing education shall be acceptable when adhering to the
31 following general guidelines:
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1 (a) The aim of continuing education for dentists is to
2 improve all phases of dental health care delivery to the
3 public.
4 (b) Continuing education courses shall address one or
5 more of the following areas of professional development,
6 including, but not limited to:
7 1. Basic medical and scientific subjects, including,
8 but not limited to, biology, physiology, pathology,
9 biochemistry, and pharmacology;
10 2. Clinical and technological subjects, including, but
11 not limited to, clinical techniques and procedures, materials,
12 and equipment; and
13 3. Subjects pertinent to oral health and safety.
14 (c) The board may also authorize up to three hours of
15 credit biennially for a practice-management course that
16 includes principles of ethical practice management, provides
17 substance abuse, effective communication with patients, time
18 management, and burn-out prevention instruction.
19 (d)(c) Continuing education credits shall be earned at
20 the rate of one-half credit hour per 25-30 contact minutes of
21 instruction and one credit hour per 50-60 contact minutes of
22 instruction.
23 Section 5. Section 466.021, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 466.021 Employment of unlicensed persons by dentist;
26 penalty.--Every duly licensed dentist who uses the services of
27 any unlicensed person for the purpose of constructing,
28 altering, repairing, or duplicating any denture, partial
29 denture, bridge splint, or orthodontic or prosthetic appliance
30 shall be required to furnish such unlicensed person with a
31 written work order in such form as prescribed by rule of the
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1 board. This form shall be dated and signed by such dentist and
2 shall include the patient's name or number with sufficient
3 descriptive information to clearly identify the case for each
4 separate and individual piece of work. A copy of such work
5 order shall be retained in a permanent file in the dentist's
6 office for a period of 4 2 years, and the original work order
7 shall be retained in a permanent file for a period of 4 2
8 years by such unlicensed person in her or his place of
9 business. Such permanent file of work orders to be kept by
10 such dentist or by such unlicensed person shall be open to
11 inspection at any reasonable time by the department or its
12 duly constituted agent. Failure of the dentist to keep such
13 permanent records of such work orders shall subject the
14 dentist to suspension or revocation of her or his license to
15 practice dentistry. Failure of such unlicensed person to have
16 in her or his possession a work order as required by this
17 section shall be admissible evidence of a violation of this
18 chapter and shall constitute a misdemeanor of the second
19 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
20 Nothing in This section does not shall preclude a registered
21 dental laboratory from working for another registered dental
22 laboratory, provided that such work is performed pursuant to
23 written authorization, in a form to be prescribed by rule of
24 the board, which evidences that the originating laboratory has
25 obtained a valid work order and which sets forth the work to
26 be performed. Furthermore, nothing in This section does not
27 shall preclude a registered laboratory from providing its
28 services to dentists licensed and practicing in another state,
29 provided that such work is requested or otherwise authorized
30 in written form which clearly identifies the name and address
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1 of the requesting dentist and which sets forth the work to be
2 performed.
3 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 466.025, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 466.025 Permitting of dental interns serving at state
6 institutions; certification of dentists practicing at
7 government facilities; permitting of nonprofit corporations.--
8 (2) The department shall have the authority to issue
9 temporary certificates to graduates of accredited dental
10 schools dentists to practice in state and county government
11 facilities, working under the general supervision of licensed
12 dentists of this state in the state or county facility,
13 provided such certificates shall be issued only to graduates
14 of schools approved by the board and further subject to
15 cancellation for just cause. A certificate issued under this
16 section is valid only for such time as the dentist remains
17 employed by a state or county government facility.
18 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.
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21 SENATE SUMMARY
22 Revises provisions relating to the practice of dentistry.
Limits service on the Board of Dentistry. Clarifies
23 examination provisions. Revises certain educational
requirements to take the licensure examination.
24 Authorizes additional continuing education. Increases a
recordkeeping requirement. Authorizes the issuance of
25 temporary licenses to certain unlicensed persons.
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