HB 0325

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to dentistry; amending s. 466.004, F.S.;
3	providing Board of Dentistry membership term limits;
4	amending s. 466.006, F.S.; clarifying the requirements to
5	be licensed as a dentist; amending s. 466.007, F.S.;
6	revising postsecondary education requirements to sit for
7	the dental hygiene examination; amending s. 466.0135,
8	F.S.; authorizing a continuing education course in
9	practice management; amending s. 466.021, F.S.; increasing
10	storage requirements for work orders; amending s. 466.025,
11	F.S.; clarifying that temporary certificates to practice
12	in state and county government facilities be issued only
13	to graduates of accredited dental schools; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 466.004, Florida
19	Statutes, is amended to read:
20	466.004  Board of Dentistry.--
21	(1)  To carry out the provisions of this chapter, there is
22	created within the department the Board of Dentistry consisting
23	of 11 members who shall be appointed by the Governor and subject
24	to confirmation by the Senate. Seven members of the board must
25	be licensed dentists actively engaged in the clinical practice
26	of dentistry in this state; two members must be licensed dental
27	hygienists actively engaged in the practice of dental hygiene in
28	this state; and the remaining two members must be laypersons who
29	are not, and have never been, dentists, dental hygienists, or
30	members of any closely related profession or occupation. Each
31	member of the board who is a licensed dentist must have been
32	actively engaged in the practice of dentistry primarily as a
33	clinical practitioner for at least 5 years immediately preceding
34	the date of her or his appointment to the board and must remain
35	primarily in clinical practice during all subsequent periods of
36	appointment to the board. Each member of the board who is
37	connected in any way with any dental college or community
38	college must be in compliance with s. 456.007. At least one
39	member of the board must be 60 years of age or older. Members
40	shall be appointed for 4-year terms; however, no member may
41	serve more than 10 cumulative years.
42	Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 466.006, Florida
43	Statutes, is amended to read:
44	466.006  Examination of dentists.--
45	(4)  Notwithstanding s. 456.017, to be licensed as a
46	dentist in this state, an applicant must successfully complete
47	the following:
48	(a)  A written examination on the laws and rules of the
49	state regulating the practice of dentistry;
50	(b)1.  A practical or clinical examination, which shall be
51	administered and graded by dentists licensed in this state and
52	employed by the department for just such purpose. The practical
53	examination shall include:
54	a.  Two restorations, and the board by rule shall determine
55	the class of such restorations and whether they shall be
56	performed on mannequins, live patients, or both. At least one
57	restoration shall be on a live patient;
58	b.  A demonstration of periodontal skills on a live
59	patient;
60	c.  A demonstration of prosthetics and restorative skills
61	in complete and partial dentures and crowns and bridges and the
62	utilization of practical methods of evaluation, specifically
63	including the evaluation by the candidate of completed
64	laboratory products such as, but not limited to, crowns and
65	inlays filled to prepared model teeth;
66	d.  A demonstration of restorative skills on a mannequin
67	which requires the candidate to complete procedures performed in
68	preparation for a cast restoration; and
69	e.  A demonstration of endodontic skills.
70	2.  The department shall consult with the board in planning
71	the times, places, physical facilities, training of personnel,
72	and other arrangements concerning the administration of the
73	examination. The board or a duly designated committee thereof
74	shall approve the final plans for the administration of the
75	examination.
76	3.  If the applicant fails to pass the clinical examination
77	in three attempts, the applicant shall not be eligible for
78	reexamination unless she or he completes additional educational
79	requirements established by the board; and
80	(c)  A diagnostic skills examination demonstrating ability
81	to diagnose conditions within the human oral cavity and its
82	adjacent tissues and structures from photographs, slides,
83	radiographs, or models pursuant to rules of the board. If an
84	applicant fails to pass the diagnostic skills examination in
85	three attempts, the applicant shall not be eligible for
86	reexamination unless she or he completes additional educational
87	requirements established by the board.
88	(d)  The board may by rule provide for additional
89	procedures which are to be tested, provided such procedures
90	shall be common to the practice of general dentistry. The board
91	by rule shall determine the passing grade for each procedure and
92	the acceptable variation for examiners. No such rule shall apply
93	retroactively.
94
95	The department shall require a mandatory standardization
96	exercise for all examiners prior to each practical or clinical
97	examination and shall retain for employment only those dentists
98	who have substantially adhered to the standard of grading
99	established at such exercise.
100	Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
101	466.007, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
102	466.007  Examination of dental hygienists.--
103	(3)  A graduate of a dental college or school shall be
104	entitled to take the examinations required in this section to
105	practice dental hygiene in this state if, in addition to the
106	requirements specified in subsection (2), the graduate meets the
107	following requirements:
108	(a)  Submits the following credentials for review by the
109	board:
110	1.  Transcripts totaling of predental education and dental
111	education totaling 5 academic years of postsecondary education,
112	including 4 academic years of postsecondary dental education;
113	and
114	2.  A dental school diploma which is comparable to a D.D.S.
115	or D.M.D.
116
117	Such credentials shall be submitted in a manner provided by rule
118	of the board. The board shall approve those credentials which
119	comply with this paragraph and with rules of the board adopted
120	under pursuant to this paragraph. The provisions of this
121	paragraph notwithstanding, an applicant of a foreign dental
122	college or school not accredited in accordance with s.
123	466.006(2)(b) who cannot produce the credentials required by
124	this paragraph, as a result of political or other conditions in
125	the country in which the applicant received his or her
126	education, may seek the board's approval of his or her
127	educational background by submitting, in lieu of the credentials
128	required in this paragraph, such other reasonable and reliable
129	evidence as may be set forth by board rule. The board shall not
130	accept such other evidence until it has made a reasonable
131	attempt to obtain the credentials required by this paragraph
132	from the educational institutions the applicant is alleged to
133	have attended, unless the board is otherwise satisfied that such
134	credentials cannot be obtained.
135	Section 4.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
136	466.0135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
137	466.0135  Continuing education; dentists.--
138	(1)  In addition to the other requirements for renewal set
139	out in this chapter, each licensed dentist shall be required to
140	complete biennially not less than 30 hours of continuing
141	professional education in dental subjects. Programs of
142	continuing education shall be programs of learning that
143	contribute directly to the dental education of the dentist and
144	may include, but shall not be limited to, attendance at
145	lectures, study clubs, college postgraduate courses, or
146	scientific sessions of conventions; and research, graduate
147	study, teaching, or service as a clinician. Programs of
148	continuing education shall be acceptable when adhering to the
149	following general guidelines:
150	(b)  Continuing education courses shall address one or more
151	of the following areas of professional development, including,
152	but not limited to:
153	1.  Basic medical and scientific subjects, including, but
154	not limited to, biology, physiology, pathology, biochemistry,
155	and pharmacology;
156	2.  Clinical and technological subjects, including, but not
157	limited to, clinical techniques and procedures, materials, and
158	equipment; and
159	3.  Subjects pertinent to oral health and safety.
160
161	Additionally, the board may authorize up to 3 credit hours
162	biennially for a course on practice management that includes,
163	but is not limited to, principles of ethical practice
164	management, provider substance abuse, effective communications
165	with patients, time management, and burnout prevention.
166	Section 5.  Section 466.021, Florida Statutes, is amended
167	to read:
168	466.021  Employment of unlicensed persons by dentist;
169	penalty.--Every duly licensed dentist who uses the services of
170	any unlicensed person for the purpose of constructing, altering,
171	repairing, or duplicating any denture, partial denture, bridge
172	splint, or orthodontic or prosthetic appliance shall be required
173	to furnish such unlicensed person with a written work order in
174	such form as prescribed by rule of the board. This form shall be
175	dated and signed by such dentist and shall include the patient's
176	name or number with sufficient descriptive information to
177	clearly identify the case for each separate and individual piece
178	of work. A copy of such work order shall be retained in a
179	permanent file in the dentist's office for a period of 4 2
180	years, and the original work order shall be retained in a
181	permanent file for a period of 4 2 years by such unlicensed
182	person in her or his place of business. Such permanent file of
183	work orders to be kept by such dentist or by such unlicensed
184	person shall be open to inspection at any reasonable time by the
185	department or its duly constituted agent. Failure of the dentist
186	to keep such permanent records of such work orders shall subject
187	the dentist to suspension or revocation of her or his license to
188	practice dentistry. Failure of such unlicensed person to have in
189	her or his possession a work order as required by this section
190	shall be admissible evidence of a violation of this chapter and
191	shall constitute a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable
192	as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Nothing in this section
193	shall preclude a registered dental laboratory from working for
194	another registered dental laboratory, provided that such work is
195	performed pursuant to written authorization, in a form to be
196	prescribed by rule of the board, which evidences that the
197	originating laboratory has obtained a valid work order and which
198	sets forth the work to be performed. Furthermore, nothing in
199	this section does not shall preclude a registered laboratory
200	from providing its services to dentists licensed and practicing
201	in another state, provided that such work is requested or
202	otherwise authorized in written form which clearly identifies
203	the name and address of the requesting dentist and which sets
204	forth the work to be performed.
205	Section 6.  Subsection (2) of section 466.025, Florida
206	Statutes, is amended to read:
207	466.025  Permitting of dental interns serving at state
208	institutions; certification of dentists practicing at government
209	facilities; permitting of nonprofit corporations.--
210	(2)  The department shall have the authority to issue
211	temporary certificates to graduates of accredited dental schools
212	dentists to practice in state and county government facilities,
213	working under the general supervision of licensed dentists of
214	this state in the state or county facility, provided such
215	certificates shall be issued only to graduates of schools
216	approved by the board and further subject to cancellation for
217	just cause. A certificate issued under this section is valid
218	only for such time as the dentist remains employed by a state or
219	county government facility.
220	Section 7.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.