History: 1959 act updated statute to specify that department of health may be requested to cancel certificate of registration; 1963 act deleted obsolete references to unlicensed assistant dentists and Sec. 20-112; 1967 acts added provision re
violation of regulations of the dental commission to Subdiv. (6) and deleted "for patronage" from description of advertising
in Subdiv. (12); P.A. 75-75 added Subdiv. (16) allowing suspension or revocation of license, etc. on ground of designating
a limited practice; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services and referred in Subdiv.
(6) to regulations adopted under chapter rather than to regulations "of the dental commission", effective January 1, 1979;
P.A. 80-484 extended applicability to disciplinary actions under Sec. 19-4s, substituted "department" for "commission"
in Subdiv. (1), substituted "incompetence" for "unskillfulness" and deleted "gross" referring to negligence in Subdiv. (2),
deleted grounds re conviction of crime involving moral turpitude, re misleading advertising, fee advertising, etc., and re
unprofessional conduct, added grounds re fraud or material deception, re physical or mental illness, emotional disorder,
etc. and re drug abuse, and added provisions requiring submission to physical or mental examination and allowing petitions
to court for enforcement of orders or actions; P.A. 81-471 replaced reference to Sec. 20-111 in Subdiv. (4) with reference
to Sec. 20-122a; P.A. 83-205 added Subsec. (b) to include fraudulent billing practices in the definition of fraud or material
deception; P.A. 84-68 amended Subsec. (b) to add Subdiv. (4) concerning the fraudulent receipt of partial payment as
payment in full by a licensed dentist; P.A. 88-230 replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district
of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991,
to September 1, 1993; P.A. 92-23 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (11) concerning failure to complete on-site evaluation
re anesthesia and sedation; P.A. 92-35 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to include dental hygienists in the provisions of the
section; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective
June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction
services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September
1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction
Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 05-213 amended Subsec. (a)
by adding new Subdiv. (11) making failure to comply with continuing education requirements grounds for disciplining
dentists, redesignating existing Subdiv. (11) as Subdiv. (12) and making technical changes; P.A. 05-288 made technical
changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005.
Sec. 20-122. Ownership and operation of offices by unlicensed persons or by
corporations. Penalty. Exception. (a) No person, except a licensed and registered dentist, and no corporation, except a professional service corporation organized and existing
under chapter 594a for the purpose of rendering professional dental services, and no
institution shall own or operate a dental office, or an office, laboratory or operation or
consultation room in which dental medicine, dental surgery or dental hygiene is carried
on as a portion of its regular business; but the provisions of this section do not apply to
hospitals, community health centers, public or parochial schools, or convalescent homes,
or institutions under control of an agency of the state of Connecticut, or the state or
municipal board of health, or a municipal board of education; or those educational institutions treating their students, or to industrial institutions or corporations rendering treatment to their employees on a nonprofit basis, provided permission for such treatment
has been granted by the State Dental Commission. Such permission may be revoked
for cause after hearing by said commission.
(b) Any licensed practitioner who provides dental services in a dental office or other
location in violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to disciplinary
action under sections 19a-17 and 20-114.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section or chapter 594a, a professional service corporation whose capital stock is held by or under the
control of a personal representative or the estate of a deceased or incompetent dentist
may operate a dental office or other location for the purpose of rendering professional
dental services for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed eighteen months from the
date of the dentist's death or the date the dentist is lawfully determined to be incompetent,
whichever is applicable.
(1949 Rev., S. 4444, 4445; P.A. 73-206, S. 1; P.A. 87-139, S. 2; P.A. 92-35, S. 7; P.A. 05-272, S. 20.)
History: P.A. 73-206 added exception re professional service corporations in prohibition concerning ownership of
dentistry concern, deleted exception for Hartford dispensary and exempted convalescent homes where dentist provided
care directly for patient rather than for home; P.A. 87-139 deleted requirement that dentist provide care directly for patient
rather than home for exemption of convalescent home from the requirements of this section; P.A. 92-35 added community
health centers to list of exclusions from the section; P.A. 05-272 designated existing language as Subsec. (a), made technical
changes in Subsec. (a), added Subsec. (b) to subject practitioners who violate provisions of Subsec. (a) to disciplinary
action and added Subsec. (c) to allow certain professional service corporations whose capital stock is held by or under the
control of a personal representative or the estate of a deceased or incompetent dentist to operate a dental office or other
location for the purpose or rendering professional dental services for a reasonable and limited period of time, effective
July 13, 2005.
Sec. 20-123. Scope of practice of dentistry. Activities restricted to licensed dentists. Extended scope of practice for graduates of post-doctoral dental training
programs. Penalties. Exceptions. (a) No person shall engage in the practice of dentistry
unless he or she is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The practice
of dentistry or dental medicine is defined as the diagnosis, evaluation, prevention or
treatment by surgical or other means, of an injury, deformity, disease or condition of
the oral cavity or its contents, or the jaws or the associated structures of the jaws. The
practice of dentistry does not include: (1) The treatment of dermatologic diseases or
disorders of the skin or face; (2) the performance of microvascular free tissue transfer;
(3) the treatment of diseases or disorders of the eye; (4) ocular procedures; (5) the performance of cosmetic surgery or other cosmetic procedures other than those related to
the oral cavity, its contents, or the jaws; or (6) nasal or sinus surgery, other than that
related to the oral cavity, its contents or the jaws.
(b) No person other than a person licensed to practice dentistry under this chapter
shall:
(1) Describe himself or herself by the word "Dentist" or letters "D.D.S." or
"D.M.D.", or in other words, letters or title in connection with his or her name which
in any way represents such person as engaged in the practice of dentistry;
(2) Own or carry on a dental practice or business;
(3) Replace lost teeth by artificial ones, or attempt to diagnose or correct malpositioned teeth;
(4) Directly or indirectly, by any means or method, furnish, supply, construct, reproduce or repair any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or any other structure to be worn
in a person's mouth, except upon the written direction of a licensed dentist, or place
such appliance or structure in a person's mouth or attempt to adjust such appliance or
structure in a person's mouth, or deliver such appliance or structure to any person other
than the dentist upon whose direction the work was performed;
(5) Sell or distribute materials, except to a licensed dentist, dental laboratory or
dental supply house, with instructions for an individual to construct, repair, reproduce
or duplicate any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or any other structure to be worn
in a person's mouth;
(6) Advertise to the public, by any method, to furnish, supply, construct, reproduce
or repair any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or other structure to be worn in a
person's mouth;
(7) Give estimates of the cost of dental treatment; or
(8) Advertise or permit it to be advertised by sign, card, circular, handbill or newspaper, or otherwise indicate that such person, by contract with others or by himself or
herself, will perform any of the functions specified in subdivisions (1) to (7), inclusive,
of this subsection.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a person who
is licensed to practice dentistry under this chapter, who has successfully completed a
postdoctoral training program that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation or its successor organization, in the specialty area of dentistry in which such person
practices may: (1) Diagnose, evaluate, prevent or treat by surgical or other means, injuries, deformities, diseases or conditions of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and
maxillofacial area, or its adjacent or associated structures; and (2) perform any of the
following procedures, provided the dentist has been granted hospital privileges to perform such procedures: (A) Surgical treatment of sleep apnea involving the jaws; (B)
salivary gland surgery; (C) the harvesting of donor tissue; (D) frontal and orbital surgery
and nasoethmoidal procedures to the extent that such surgery or procedures are associated with trauma.
(d) Any person who, in practicing dentistry or dental medicine, as defined in this
section, employs or permits any other person except a licensed dentist to so practice
dentistry or dental medicine shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 20-126.
(e) The provisions of this section do not apply to:
(1) Any practicing physician or surgeon who is licensed in accordance with chapter 370;
(2) Any regularly enrolled student in a dental school approved as provided in this
chapter or a medical school approved as provided in chapter 370 receiving practical
training in dentistry under the supervision of a licensed dentist or physician in a dental
or medical school in this state or in any hospital, infirmary, clinic or dispensary affiliated
with such school;
(3) A person who holds the degree of doctor of dental medicine or doctor of dental
surgery or its equivalent and who has been issued a permit in accordance with section
20-126b and who is receiving practical training under the supervision of a licensed
dentist or physician in an advanced dental education program conducted by a dental or
medical school in this state or by a hospital operated by the federal government or
licensed pursuant to subsection (a) of section 19a-491;
(4) Any regularly enrolled student in or graduate of an accredited school of dental
hygiene who is receiving practical training in dental hygiene in an approved school of
dental hygiene in the state or in any hospital, infirmary, clinic or dispensary affiliated
with such school, under the supervision of a dentist licensed pursuant to this chapter or
a dental hygienist licensed pursuant to chapter 379a; or
(5) Controlled investigations or innovative training programs related to the delivery
of dental health services within accredited dental schools or schools of dental hygiene,
provided such programs are (A) under the supervision of a dentist licensed pursuant to
this chapter or physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370, and (B) conducted within a
program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation or such other national
professional accrediting body as may be recognized by the United States Department
of Education.
(1949 Rev., S. 4458; 1949, 1953, S. 2233d; 1963, P.A. 450, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 238; 1969, P.A. 102; 1971, P.A. 244; P.A.
73-183; P.A. 92-35, S. 8; P.A. 94-149, S. 22; P.A. 05-213, S. 3.)
History: 1963 act required direction of licensed dentist in first sentence to be written; 1967 act deleted descriptive
references to "the human teeth or jaws" and substituted "the mouth and surrounding and associated structures"; 1969 act
required that section not be construed to prevent students or graduates from receiving training under supervision of licensed
dentist or hygienist; 1971 act included as practicing dentistry one who "sells or distributes materials, except to a licensed
dentist ... with instructions ... to construct, repair, reproduce or duplicate any prosthetic denture, bridge ..."; P.A. 73-183
required that section not be construed "to prevent controlled investigations or innovative training programs ... provided
such programs are under the supervision of a licensed dentist or physician"; P.A. 92-35 added provision requiring inclusion
in a program accredited by the commission on dental accreditation or other body recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education; P.A. 94-149 added provision re dentists issued a permit under Sec. 20-126v; P.A. 05-213 replaced former
provisions with new Subsec. (a) re dentists' scope of practice, new Subsec. (b) specifying certain activities that may only
be performed by persons licensed to practice dentistry; new Subsec. (c) authorizing graduates of post-doctoral dental
training programs to engage in certain practices beyond the scope of dentistry defined in Subsec. (a), new Subsec. (d)
authorizing penalties for persons who employ or permit unlicensed persons to practice dentistry or dental medicine, and
new Subsec. (e) exempting certain persons, investigations and training programs from provisions of section.
Sec. 20-126c. Continuing education: Definitions; contact hours; attestation;
record-keeping; exemptions; waivers; reinstatement of void licenses. (a) As used
in this section:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health;
(2) "Contact hour" means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing education activity;
(3) "Department" means the Department of Public Health;
(4) "Licensee" means any person who receives a license from the department pursuant to this chapter; and
(5) "Registration period" means the one-year period for which a license renewed
in accordance with section 19a-88 and is current and valid.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, for registration periods beginning
on and after October 1, 2007, a licensee applying for license renewal shall earn a minimum of twenty-five contact hours of continuing education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing education shall (1) be in an area of the licensee's
practice; (2) reflect the professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health
care needs of the public; and (3) include at least one contact hour of training or education
in infectious diseases, including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus, access to care, risk management, care of
special needs patients and domestic violence, including sexual abuse. Qualifying continuing education activities include, but are not limited to, courses, including on-line
courses, offered or approved by the American Dental Association or state, district or
local dental associations and societies affiliated with the American Dental Association;
national, state, district or local dental specialty organizations or the American Academy
of General Dentistry; a hospital or other health care institution; dental schools and other
schools of higher education accredited or recognized by the Council on Dental Accreditation or a regional accrediting organization; agencies or businesses whose programs
are accredited or recognized by the Council on Dental Accreditation; local, state or
national medical associations; a state or local health department; or the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education. Eight hours of volunteer dental practice at a
public health facility, as defined in section 20-126l, may be substituted for one contact
hour of continuing education, up to a maximum of ten contact hours in one twenty-four-month period.
(c) Each licensee applying for license renewal pursuant to section 19a-88 shall sign
a statement attesting that he or she has satisfied the continuing education requirements
of subsection (b) of this section on a form prescribed by the department. Each licensee
shall retain records of attendance or certificates of completion that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education requirements of said subsection (b) for a minimum
of three years following the year in which the continuing education activities were completed and shall submit such records to the department for inspection not later than forty-five days after a request by the department for such records.
(d) A licensee applying for the first time for license renewal pursuant to section
19a-88 is exempt from the continuing education requirements of this section.
(e) A licensee who is not engaged in active professional practice in any form during
a registration period shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements of this
section, provided the licensee submits to the department, prior to the expiration of the
registration period, a notarized application for exemption on a form prescribed by the
department and such other documentation as may be required by the department. The
application for exemption pursuant to this subsection shall contain a statement that the
licensee may not engage in professional practice until the licensee has met the continuing
education requirements of this section.
(f) In individual cases involving medical disability or illness, the commissioner
may, in the commissioner's discretion, grant a waiver of the continuing education requirements or an extension of time within which to fulfill the continuing education
requirements of this section to any licensee, provided the licensee submits to the department an application for waiver or extension of time on a form prescribed by the department, along with a certification by a licensed physician of the disability or illness and
such other documentation as may be required by the commissioner. The commissioner
may grant a waiver or extension for a period not to exceed one registration period,
except that the commissioner may grant additional waivers or extensions if the medical
disability or illness upon which a waiver or extension is granted continues beyond the
period of the waiver or extension and the licensee applies for an additional waiver or
extension.
(g) Any licensee whose license has become void pursuant to section 19a-88 and
who applies to the department for reinstatement of such license pursuant to section 19a-14 shall submit evidence documenting successful completion of twelve contact hours
of continuing education within the one-year period immediately preceding application
for reinstatement.
(P.A. 05-213, S. 11.)