CHAPTER 379
DENTISTRY

      Sec. 20-108. Examination of applicants. Alternative to practical examination. (a) Except as provided in section 20-110 and subsection (b) of this section, each applicant for a license to practice dental medicine or dental surgery shall be examined by the Department of Public Health, under the supervision of the Dental Commission as to his or her professional knowledge and skill before such license is granted. Such examination shall be conducted in the English language. The Dental Commission may, with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, accept and approve, in lieu of the written examination required by this section, the results of an examination given by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, subject to such conditions as the commission may prescribe, and the Dental Commission with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, may accept and approve, in lieu of the written and practical examination required by this section, the results of regional testing agencies as to written and practical examinations, subject to such conditions as the commission, with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, may prescribe. Passing scores shall be established by the department with the consent of the commission.

      (b) In lieu of the practical examination required by subsection (a) of this section, an applicant for licensure may submit evidence of having successfully completed not less than one year of graduate dental training as a resident dentist in a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, provided the director of the dental residency program at the facility in which the applicant completed the residency training provides documentation satisfactory to the Department of Public Health attesting to the resident dentist's competency in all areas tested on the practical examination required by subsection (a) of this section. Not later than December 1, 2005, the Dental Commission, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, shall develop a form upon which such documentation shall be provided.

      (1949 Rev., S. 4448; 1957, P.A. 185; 1969, P.A. 101; P.A. 77-614, S. 397, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 40, 176; P.A. 87-114, S. 1; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 6, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 05-213, S. 2; P.A. 07-252, S. 45.)

      History: 1969 act added provision allowing acceptance of regional test results in lieu of written and practical examinations; P.A. 77-614 required consent of health services commissioner for waiver of written and practical examinations and transferred examinations to jurisdiction of health services department, retaining commission in supervisory capacity, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 added provision re establishment of passing scores; P.A. 87-114 added provision re exception to obtaining a license by examination; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-435 substituted Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations for National Board of Dental Examiners, effective June 28, 1993; 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 designated existing language as Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (a) by making technical changes and exempting Subsec. (b) from provisions and added Subsec. (b) authorizing graduate dental training as resident dentist in lieu of practical examination required by Subsec. (a); P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring director of dental residency program, instead of supervising dentist, to provide documentation of applicant's successful completion of graduate dental training as a resident dentist and deleting provision re documentation to be provided at the end of year of graduate dental training, effective July 12, 2007.

      Sec. 20-123a. Anesthesia and sedation: Definitions. For purposes of this section and section 20-123b:

      (a) "Conscious sedation" means a drug-induced state in which the patient is calmed and relaxed, capable of making rational responses to commands and has all protective reflexes intact, including the ability to clear and maintain the patient's own airway in a patent state, but does not include nitrous oxide sedation or the administration of a single oral sedative or analgesic medication in a dose appropriate for the unsupervised treatment of insomnia, anxiety or pain that does not exceed the maximum recommended therapeutic dose established by the federal Food and Drug Administration for unmonitored home use;

      (b) "General anesthesia" means a controlled state of unconsciousness produced by pharmacologic or nonpharmacologic methods, or a combination thereof, accompanied by a partial or complete loss of protective reflexes including an inability to independently maintain an airway and to respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal commands; and

      (c) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health.

      (P.A. 85-251, S. 1; P.A. 87-589, S. 53, 87; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 07-252, S. 58.)

      History: P.A. 87-589 amended Subsec. (a) by adding "or any orally administered sedation"; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; 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. 07-252 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change and redefine "conscious sedation" as excluding administration of a single oral sedative or analgesic medication in dose appropriate for unsupervised treatment of certain conditions, effective July 1, 2007.

      Sec. 20-126d. Professional liability insurance required. Reports from insurance companies. Exception to insurance requirement. Retired dentist providing free services. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each person licensed to practice dentistry under the provisions of this chapter who provides direct patient care services shall maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice. The amount of insurance which each such person shall carry as insurance or indemnity against claims for injury or death for professional malpractice shall be not less than five hundred thousand dollars for one person, per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars.

      (b) Each insurance company that issues professional liability insurance, as defined in subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of section 38a-393, shall on and after January 1, 2007, render to the Commissioner of Public Health a true record of the names and addresses, according to classification, of cancellations of and refusals to renew professional liability insurance policies and the reasons for such cancellations or refusals to renew said policies for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December next preceding.

      (c) A person subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed in compliance with such subsection when providing dental services at a clinic licensed by the Department of Public Health that is recognized as tax exempt pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor internal revenue code, as may be amended from time to time, provided: (1) Such person is not compensated for such services; (2) the clinic does not charge patients for such services; (3) the clinic maintains professional liability insurance coverage in the amounts required by subsection (a) of this section for each aggregated forty hours of service or fraction thereof for such persons; (4) the clinic carries additional appropriate professional liability coverage on behalf of the clinic and its employees in the amounts of five hundred thousand dollars per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars; and (5) the clinic maintains total professional liability coverage of not less than one million dollars per occurrence with an annual aggregate of not less than three million dollars. Such person shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section when providing direct patient care services in any setting other than such clinic. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to relieve the clinic from any insurance requirements otherwise required by law.

      (d) No person insured pursuant to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section with a claims-made medical malpractice insurance policy shall lose the right to unlimited additional extended reporting period coverage upon such person's permanent retirement from practice if such person solely provides professional services without charge at a clinic recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of said internal revenue code.

      (P.A. 06-195, S. 20; P.A. 07-252, S. 29.)

      History: P.A. 07-252 made a technical change in Subsec. (b).