House Bill 335

AN ACT TO CODIFY NEW SECTION 73-9-30, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD OF DENTAL EXAMINERS TO GRANT LIMITED INSTITUTIONAL LICENSES FOR THE PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY OR DENTAL HYGIENE IN STATE SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS TO GRADUATES OF RECOGNIZED FOREIGN DENTAL SCHOOLS OR DENTAL HYGIENE SCHOOLS; TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS FOR THE ISSUANCE OF LIMITED INSTITUTIONAL LICENSES FOR THE PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY OR DENTAL HYGIENE; TO AMEND SECTION 73-9-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 73-9-30, Mississippi Code of 1972:

73-9-30. The State Board of Dental Examiners may grant limited institutional licenses for the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in state institutions to graduates of foreign dental schools or dental hygiene schools that are recognized by the licensure authorities of the countries in which the schools are located, subject to the conditions as set out in this section.

Any graduate of such a recognized foreign dental school or dental hygiene school who is employed or is being considered for employment to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in one or more Mississippi state-supported institutions located in the same county shall make application for the license to the State Board of Dental Examiners on a form prescribed by the board. The application shall state the institution or institutions in which the applicant has assurance of employment. The board may establish minimum standards of qualifications including moral, experience and proficiency for those applicants. The application and the board's recommendation shall be forwarded to the governing body and director of the institution or institutions in which the applicant wishes to practice.

Upon receipt of an approved application from the board, the governing body and director of the institution shall submit the application for review to the local dental or dental hygiene society, the member of the governing board of the Mississippi Dental Association or the Mississippi Dental Hygienists' Association of the district in which the institution is located and the member of the State Board of Dental Examiners of the district in which the institution is located. A formal recommendation from each of these, along with that of the governing body and director of the institution, shall become a part of the application, and shall then be returned to the board. If a majority of the recommendations are in favor of the applicant, the board may, in its discretion, issue a limited license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in that institution. The holder of such a license shall be subject to all the laws of the State of Mississippi governing the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene.

The license shall be for one (1) year and shall be in such form as the board prescribes, and shall be issued for practice in a particular institution and shall not be endorsable to another state. The license must be renewed annually, after such review as the board considers necessary. A graduate of a foreign dental school or dental hygiene school so licensed may hold a limited institutional license for not more than five (5) years; however, the board, in its discretion, may waive the five-year limitation on limited institutional licenses for any graduate of a foreign dental school or dental hygiene school who holds the license.

It is the intent of this section to enable Mississippi state supported institutions to utilize the services of qualified graduates of foreign dental schools and dental hygiene schools during the period necessary for them to secure citizenship papers, and to meet other requirements for a regular dental or dental hygiene license. The board may, in its discretion, refuse to renew, or revoke a limited license if the holder of the license has failed to avail himself or herself of the opportunity to take the examination for regular licensure after becoming eligible for the examination.

The board may establish reasonable and uniform license fees and shall make such rules and regulations as it considers necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

SECTION 2. Section 73-9-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

73-9-23. (1) No person who desires to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in the State of Mississippi shall be licensed until that person has passed an examination by the board, except as otherwise provided in Section 73-9-30. Applicants for examination shall apply in writing to theboard for an examination at least thirty (30) days before the examination and shall upon application pay a nonrefundable fee as elsewhere provided in this chapter.

(2) An applicant for licensure by examination as a dentist who is a graduate of a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (ADA), or its successor commission, shall:

(a) Be of good moral character, be possessed of a high school education, and have attained the age of twenty-one (21) years;

(b) Exhibit with the application a diploma or certificate of graduation from the ADA accredited dental school; and

(c) Have successfully completed Parts I and II of the National Board Examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, or its successor commission, unless the applicant graduated from an accredited dental school before 1960.

(3) An applicant for licensure by examination as a dentist who is a graduate of a non-ADA accredited foreign country dental school shall:

(a) Be of good moral character and have attained the age of twenty-one (21) years;

(b) Be proficient in oral and written communications in the English language;

(c) Have completed not less than six (6) academic years of postsecondary study and graduated from a foreign dental school that is recognized by the licensure authorities in that country;

(d) Have been licensed as a dentist or admitted to the practice of dentistry in the foreign country in which the applicant received foreign dental school training;

(e) Present documentation of having completed at least two (2) or more years of full-time postdoctoral dental education in a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, or its successor commission, and has been certified by the dean of the accredited dental school as having achieved the same level of didactic and clinical competence as expected of a graduate of the school; and

(f) Have successfully completed Parts I and II of the National Board Examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, or its successor commission, unless the applicant graduated from an approved dental school before 1960.

(4) An applicant for licensure by examination as a dental hygienist who is a graduate of a dental hygiene school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (ADA), or its successor commission, shall:

(a) Be of good moral character, be possessed of a high school education and have attained the age of eighteen (18) years;

(b) Exhibit with the application a diploma or certificate of graduation from the ADA accredited dental hygiene school; and

(c) Have successfully completed the National Board Dental Hygiene Examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, or its successor commission.

(5) An applicant for licensure by examination as a dental hygienist who is a graduate of a non-ADA accredited foreign country dental hygiene school shall:

(a) Be of good moral character and have attained the age of eighteen (18) years;

(b) Be proficient in oral and written communications in the English language;

(c) Have completed not less than two (2) academic years of postsecondary study and graduated from a foreign dental hygiene school that is recognized by the licensure authorities in that country;

(d) Have been licensed as a dental hygienist or admitted to the practice of dental hygiene in the foreign country in which the applicant received foreign dental hygiene school training;

(e) Present documentation of having completed at least one or more years of full-time postgraduate clinical education in a dental hygiene school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, or its successor commission, and has been certified by the dean of the accredited dental hygiene school as having achieved the same level of didactic and clinical competence as expected of a graduate of the school; and

(f) Have successfully completed the National Board Dental Hygiene Examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, or its successor commission.

(6) Applications shall be made in the form and content as required in this section and as shall be prescribed by the board, and each applicant shall submit upon request such proof as the board may require as to age, character and qualifications. Applications must be signed by two (2) citizens of the state of which the applicant is a resident, attesting under oath that the applicant is of good moral character. All applicants for licensure shall submit an endorsement from all states in which he or she is currently licensed or has ever been licensed to practice dentistry or dental hygiene. The board may disallow the licensure examination to any applicant who has been found guilty of any of the grounds for disciplinary action as enumerated in Section 73-9-61.

(7) Examination shall be as elsewhere provided in this chapter and the board may by its rules and regulations prescribe reasonable professional standards for oral, written, clinical and other examinations given to applicants, and, if deemed necessary by the board, include a requirement that licensure examinations of applicants be conducted utilizing live human subjects. Each applicant shall appear before the board and be examined to determine his or her learning and skill in dentistry or dental hygiene. If found by the members of the board conducting the examination to possess sufficient learning and skill therein and to be of good moral character, the board shall, as early as practicable, grant to the person a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene, as the case may be, which shall be signed by each member of the board who attended the examination and approved the issuance of a license.

(8) The Board of Dental Examiners may, at its own discretion, accept certification of a licensure applicant, either dentist or dental hygienist, by the National Board Examinations of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, or its successor commission, in lieu of the written examination. However, in all such instances the board shall retain the right to administer such further written and practical examinations and demonstrations as it deems necessary.

(9) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.