AB 880, Ridley-Thomas. Dentistry: licensure: exemption.
The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of persons engaged in the practice of dentistry by the Dental Board of California, and prohibits the practice of dentistry by any person without a valid license, except in certain circumstances.
This bill would additionally exempt from that prohibition the practice of dentistry, as specified and as approved by the board, by a final year student, as defined, without compensation or expectation of compensation and under the supervision of a licensed dentist with a clinical faculty appointment at a sponsored event, as defined, if specified conditions are met. This bill would require the sponsoring entity of the sponsored event to provide the board with a list of the names of the students practicing dentistry exempted pursuant to this bill at the sponsored event, the name of the school of enrollment of those students, and the name and license number of the supervising licensed dentist.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1626.6 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:
(a) (1) In addition to the exemptions set forth in Section 1626, the practice of dentistry by a final year student rendered or performed without compensation or expectation of compensation under the supervision of a licensed dentist with a clinical faculty appointment at a sponsored event, is exempt from the operation of this chapter.
(2) The practice of dentistry exempted by paragraph (1) only includes those operations, approved by the board, that are rendered or performed under the same conditions as operations exempt under subdivision (b) of Section 1626.
(b) For purposes of this section, all of the following shall apply:
(1) “Final year student” means a student of dentistry in his or her final year of completion at a dental school approved by the board. “Final year student” also includes a dental student enrolled in an advanced dental program.
(2) “Licensed dentist” means a dentist licensed pursuant to this chapter.
(3) “Patient” means a dental patient or, in the case of a minor, the patient’s representative.
(4) “Sponsored event” means an event, not to exceed 10 calendar days, administered by a sponsoring entity or a local governmental entity, or both, through which health care is provided to the public without compensation, or expectation of compensation.
(5) “Sponsoring dental school” means a dental school that sanctions student and clinical faculty participation at a sponsored event.
(6) “Sponsoring entity” means a nonprofit organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a community-based organization.
(c) The volunteer practice of dentistry by students pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Each patient shall be sufficiently informed that a dental student may be providing some of the treatment that he or she will be receiving.
(2) Any information provided to the patient to give informed consent shall offer the patient the option to decline to be treated by the student.
(3) The volunteer practice of a student shall be supervised by clinical faculty from the dental school in which the student is enrolled.
(4) Each volunteer student shall wear an identification badge that clearly identifies the student as a dental student. The identification badge shall display the student’s name, the name of the student’s dental school, and the name and the telephone number of the Dental Board of California. That information shall be displayed in 14-point font, at minimum.
(5) Supervision ratios and student oversight shall be at least as stringent as the standards set for the procedure being performed by the student and the age of the patient, in accordance with the standards at the sponsoring dental school’s clinical department, laboratory, or dental extension program operated pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1626.
(6) The student shall perform only those procedures in which he or she is credentialed or those procedures he or she is permitted to perform in the school’s clinical department, laboratory, or dental extension program operated pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1626.
(d) The student or the student’s sponsoring dental school shall ensure liability insurance coverage is obtained that covers all services provided by the student, including diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation.
(e) The sponsoring entity of the sponsored event shall provide the Dental Board of California with a list of the names of the students practicing dentistry exempted by this section at the sponsored event, the name of the school of enrollment of those students, and the name and license number of the supervising licensed dentist.
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