OCCUPATIONS CODE
SUBTITLE D. DENTISTRY
CHAPTER 251. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY
§ 251.001. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as
the Dental Practice Act.
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 251.002. DEFINITIONS. In this subtitle:
(1) "Board" means the State Board of Dental Examiners.
(2) "Executive director" means the executive director
of the board.
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 251.003. PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY. (a) For purposes of
this subtitle, a person practices dentistry if the person:
(1) represents to the public that the person is a
dentist or dental surgeon or uses or permits to be used for the
person or another person the title of "Doctor," "Dr.," "Doctor of
Dental Surgery," "D.D.S.," "Doctor of Dental Medicine," "D.M.D.,"
or another description, including the use of the terms "denturist"
or "denturism," that, directly or indirectly, represents that the
person is able to:
(A) diagnose, treat, or remove stains or
concretions from human teeth; or
(B) provide surgical and adjunctive treatment
for a disease, pain, injury, deficiency, deformity, or physical
condition of the human teeth, oral cavity, alveolar process, gums,
jaws, or directly related and adjacent masticatory structures;
(2) performs or offers to perform by any means the:
(A) cleaning of human teeth;
(B) removal of stains, concretions, or deposits
from teeth in the human mouth; or
(C) diagnosis, treatment, operation, or
prescription for a disease, pain, injury, deficiency, deformity, or
physical condition of the human teeth, oral cavity, alveolar
process, gums, or jaws;
(3) prescribes, makes, or causes to be made or offers
to prescribe, make, or cause to be made by any means an impression
of any portion of the human mouth, teeth, gums, or jaws:
(A) to diagnose, prescribe, or treat, or aid in
the diagnosis, prescription, or treatment, of a physical condition
of the human mouth, teeth, gums, or jaws; or
(B) to construct or aid in the construction of a
dental appliance, denture, dental bridge, false teeth, dental plate
of false teeth, or another substitute for human teeth;
(4) owns, maintains, or operates an office or place of
business in which the person employs or engages under any type of
contract another person to practice dentistry;
(5) fits, adjusts, repairs, or substitutes or offers
to fit, adjust, repair, or substitute in the human mouth or directly
related and adjacent masticatory structures a dental appliance,
structure, prosthesis, or denture;
(6) aids in the fitting, adjusting, repairing, or
substituting or causes to be fitted, adjusted, repaired, or
substituted in the human mouth or directly related and adjacent
masticatory structures a dental appliance, structure, prosthesis,
or denture;
(7) without a written prescription or work order
signed by a dentist legally practicing dentistry in this state or in
the jurisdiction in which the dentist maintains the dentist's
office:
(A) makes, processes, reproduces, repairs, or
relines a full or partial denture, fixed or removable dental bridge
or appliance, dental plate of false teeth, artificial dental
restoration, or a substitute or corrective device or appliance for
the human teeth, gums, jaws, mouth, alveolar process, or any part
for another; or
(B) offers, undertakes, aids, abets, or causes
another person to engage in an activity described by Paragraph (A);
(8) directly or indirectly offers, undertakes, or
causes another to perform for any person an act, service, or part of
an act or service in the practice of dentistry, including:
(A) inducing, administering, prescribing, or
dispensing anesthesia or an anesthetic drug, medicine, or an agent
in any way related to the practice of dentistry;
(B) permitting or allowing another to use the
person's license or certificate to practice dentistry in this
state; or
(C) aiding or abetting the practice of dentistry
by a person not licensed by the board to practice dentistry;
(9) controls, influences, attempts to control or
influence, or otherwise interferes with the exercise of a dentist's
independent professional judgment regarding the diagnosis or
treatment of a dental disease, disorder, or physical condition; or
(10) represents that the person is a denturist or uses
another title that is intended to convey to the public that the
services offered by the person are included within the practice of
dentistry.
(b) The practice of dentistry under Subsection (a)(9) does
not:
(1) require an entity to pay for services that are not
provided for in an agreement; or
(2) exempt a dentist who is a member of a hospital
staff from following hospital bylaws, medical staff bylaws, or
established policies approved by the governing board and the
medical and dental staff of the hospital.
(c) In this subtitle, the practice of the dental specialty
of oral and maxillofacial surgery includes the diagnosis of and the
surgical and adjunctive treatment of diseases, injuries, and
defects involving the functional and aesthetic aspects of the hard
and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region.
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 251.004. EXEMPTION FROM PRACTICE OF
DENTISTRY. (a) A person does not practice dentistry as provided
by Section 251.003 if the person is:
(1) a faculty member of a reputable dental or dental
hygiene school in which the member performs services for the sole
benefit of the school;
(2) a student of a reputable dental school who
performs the student's operations without pay, except for actual
cost of materials, in the presence of and under the direct personal
supervision of a demonstrator or teacher who is a faculty member of
a reputable dental school;
(3) a person:
(A) who performs laboratory work only on inert
matter; and
(B) who does not solicit or obtain work by any
means from a person who is not a licensed dentist engaged in the
practice of dentistry and does not act as the agent or solicitor of,
and does not have any interest in, a dental office or practice or
the receipts of a dental office or practice;
(4) a physician licensed in this state who does not
represent that the person is practicing dentistry, including a
physician who extracts teeth or applies pain relief in the regular
practice of the physician's profession;
(5) a dental hygienist:
(A) who is authorized to practice dental hygiene
in this state; and
(B) who practices dental hygiene in strict
conformity with the state law regulating the practice of dental
hygiene;
(6) a person who is a member of an established church
and practices healing by prayer only;
(7) an employee of a licensed dentist in this state who
makes dental x-rays in the dental office under the supervision of
the dentist;
(8) a Dental Health Service Corporation chartered
under Section A(1), Article 2.01, Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act
(Article 1396-2.01, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
(9) a dental intern or dental resident as defined and
regulated by board rules;
(10) a student:
(A) who is in a dental hygiene program accredited
by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental
Association and operated at an accredited institution of higher
education;
(B) who practices dental hygiene without pay
under the general supervision of a dentist and under the
supervision of a demonstrator or teacher who is a faculty member of
the program:
(i) in a clinic operated for the sole
benefit of the program's institution of higher education; or
(ii) in a clinic operated by a government or
nonprofit organization that serves underserved populations as
determined by board rule; and
(C) who practices in strict conformity with state
law regulating the practice of dental hygiene;
(11) a dental assistant who performs duties permitted
under Chapter 265, in strict conformity with state law;
(12) a dentist or dental hygienist licensed by another
state or a foreign country who performs a clinical procedure only as
a demonstration for professional and technical education purposes,
if the dentist or dental hygienist first obtains from the board a
temporary license for that purpose;
(13) a dental hygienist who is a faculty member of a
dental or dental hygiene school while practicing dental hygiene:
(A) under the supervision of a dentist licensed
in this state or of a teacher or demonstrator who is a dentist
faculty member of the school; and
(B) in strict conformity with state law
regulating the practice of dental hygiene;
(14) a dentist who is in a remedial training program
sponsored by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American
Dental Association at an accredited dental or dental hygiene
school;
(15) a dental hygienist who is in a remedial training
program sponsored by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the
American Dental Association at an accredited dental or dental
hygiene school and who acts in strict conformity with state law
regulating the practice of dental hygiene, except that supervision
may be provided by a demonstrator or teacher who is a dentist member
of the program;
(16) a dentist who is not licensed in this state and
who is taking the dental clinical examination offered by the
Western Regional Examining Board in this state;
(17) a dental hygienist who is not licensed in this
state and who is taking the dental hygiene clinical examination
offered by the Western Regional Examining Board in this state if
participation is in strict conformity with state law regulating the
practice of dental hygiene, except that supervision may be provided
by a dentist whose services are secured by the Western Regional
Examining Board;
(18) a dentist whose license is in retired status or
who is licensed in another state and is attending a continuing
education clinical program offered at a dental or dental hygiene
school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the
American Dental Association; or
(19) a dental hygienist whose dental hygienist license
is in retired status or who is licensed in another state and is
attending a continuing education clinical program offered at a
dental or dental hygiene school accredited by the Commission on
Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association if tasks
are performed in strict conformity with state law regulating the
practice of dental hygiene, except that supervision may be provided
by a dentist member of the program.
(b) A person's activities described by Subsections (a)(14),
(15), and (18) are considered not to be the practice of dentistry
only to the extent the person is participating in the specified
program.
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended
by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 14.071(a), eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
§ 251.005. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. The State Board
of Dental Examiners is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code
(Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by
that chapter, the board is abolished September 1, 2015.
Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended
by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 17, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1481, § 1.02, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 17, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
