Bob is a dentist and he called into the show to say that each state has a Dental Practice Act that determines what is the standard of care for dental patients. Here’s some information from the Georgia Dental Association’s Website (http://gadental.org).

GDA Role in Dental Law Enforcement

The Georgia Legislature create the state’s first dental practice act in 1872, and also set up a board of dental examiners at that time. Since that time, the practice act and board of examiners has undergone review and change.

At the Georgia State Dental Society’s Annual Meeting in 1919, the legislative committee proposed a new dental practice act to meet the exigencies of the time. The new act, adopted by the Georgia Legislature in 1920, provided that “all persons shall be held to be practicing dentistry within the meaning of this act who shall charge a fee or salary or any other reward…for operations or parts of operations of any kind in the treatment of diseases or lesions of the human teeth, mouth, gums, or jaws, or extract teeth or attempt to correct the malposition thereof or who shall fill or crown a human tooth or teeth, or do any operation whatsoever on the human tooth, or teeth, gums, or jaws, or take an impression thereof for the purpose of treating or operating upon the same or who shall by any means whatsoever make it known or imply that he will do such operation.”

In 1958, the GDA asked the Georgia legislature to arm the Board of Dental Examiners with injunction powers, and this was granted. In October 1957, the new law was first used in a Board suite filed in Hawkinsville against a dental technician for the illegal practice of dentistry.

To read the Georgia Dental Practice Act, go to the website of the Georgia Board of Dentistry.

Published: Dec 24, 2008