CHAPTER 9. DENTISTS

§751. Definitions; licensure; presumption; short title

A. As used in this Chapter:

(1) "Advertisement" and "advertising" means any statement, oral or written, requested and approved by a licensed dentist, disseminated to or displayed before the public or any portion thereof with the intent of selling professional dental services, offering to perform professional dental services, or inducing members of the public to enter into any obligation relating to such professional dental services. This shall apply to an approved statement of any nature regardless of whether it is in the form of paid advertising. "Advertisement" and "advertising" shall not include any communication, oral or written, by a nonprofit entity that meets the statutory, regulatory, and program requirements for grantees supported under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 254b, or its successor. In addition, listing, identifying, or grouping of dentists by an insurance company on a website or by any other means of disseminating information involving a dentist participating with an insurance company and an associated affiliate, including but not limited to a third party payor including, without limitation, a dental health maintenance organization, a dental preferred provider organization, Medicaid, or a dental discount entity, shall not be deemed an advertisement or advertising by the dentist. For the purposes of this Chapter, neither the insurance company nor the associated affiliate shall be deemed a referral company and a listed dentist shall not be considered to be advertising through a referral service by participating with such company or affiliate.

(2) "Another state" means each of the several states, other than Louisiana, and includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

(3) "Board" means the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.

(4) "Dental assistant" means a person who is employed by a licensed practicing dentist and performs the duties authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry only under his direct on-premises supervision, direction, and responsibility.

(5) "Dental hygienist" means a person licensed under the provision of this Chapter to perform those duties authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry as set forth in rules and regulations promulgated by the board in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(6) "Dentistry" means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment, including nonsurgical, surgical, or related procedures, of diseases, disorders, or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial areas or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body provided by a dentist within the scope of his education, training, and experience, in accordance with the ethics of the profession and applicable law.

(7) "Expanded duty dental assistant" means a person who is employed by a licensed practicing dentist and has passed an expanded function for dental assistants course approved by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry that shall not consist of less than thirty classroom hours, or who has graduated from a dental assisting program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association provided the program teaches functions as provided for in LAC 46:XXXIII.502 and 503. An expanded duty dental assistant may perform any functions authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry for an expanded duty dental assistant under the direct, on-premises supervision, direction, and responsibility of the dentist.

(8) "Licensure by credentials" means issuing of a license using a performance record in place of examinations to evaluate theoretical knowledge and clinical skill when an applicant for licensure has been awarded a D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree from a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and holds a dental license or has received a degree or certificate in a dental hygiene education program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and holds a dental hygiene license.

(9) "Reciprocity" means formal reciprocal agreement between two state boards under which a dentist licensed in one state may apply for and receive a license in another state without examination and without fulfilling any other requirements except the usual state license fees.

(10) "Reputable dental school" means one that is recognized as such by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry according to its rules and regulations.

(11) "Unlicensed person" means a person who is not licensed by the board who illegally practices dentistry or dental hygiene.

B. Any health care provider possessing a degree in dentistry or a dental degree as specifically approved under R.S. 37:771 and a medical degree must be licensed and maintain licensure with the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry prior to and as long as said health care provider practices, engages in, performs, or offers to engage in or perform any of the practices, acts, or operations set forth in this Section or as defined as a specialty of dentistry.

C. A person who represents himself as being able to perform any procedure contained within the definition of dentistry such as taking impressions of the human teeth or jaws or performing any phase of any operation incident to the replacement of tooth or part of tooth or associated tissue by means of a filling, crown, denture, or other appliance or who furnishes, supplies, constructs, and produces, or repairs, or offers to furnish, supply, construct, reproduce or repair or process dentures, bridges, or other substitutes for natural teeth to the user or prospective user is practicing dentistry.

D. Where it is difficult to determine under this Section whether the treatment and attention more properly belongs to the field of dentistry, the dentist shall call in a member of the medical profession to cooperate with him.

E. The fact that any person engages in or performs, or offers to engage in or perform, any of the practices, acts, or operations, set forth in this Section, is prima facie evidence that such person is engaged in the practice of dentistry.

F. This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Dental Practice Act".

Acts 1962, No. 17, §§1, 2; Acts 1970, No. 355, §1; Acts 1982, No. 278, §1; Acts 1990, No. 738, §1; Acts 1991, No. 488, §1, eff. July 15, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 727, §1; Acts 1992, No. 430, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 920, §1; Acts 1997, No. 83, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1358, §§1, 2; Acts 2003, No. 303, §1; Acts 2005, No. 196, §1; Acts 2012, No. 485, §1; Acts 2014, No. 856, §1, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 206, §3.