License: Dental Specialist

MS State Board of Dental Examiners external site

600 East Amite Street

Suite 100

Jackson, MS 39201-2801

(601) 944-9622

LICENSE REQUIRED Every person who desires to practice dentistry in this state must obtain a license to do so as hereinafter provided; but this section shall not apply to dentists now holding permanent licenses to practice provided the same have been recorded as required by law. DENTISTRY" DEFINED "Dentistry" is defined as the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of diseases, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and/or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body; provided by a dentist, within the scope of his or her education, training and experience, in accordance with the ethics of the profession and applicable law, provided that nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent: (a) The practice of his or her profession by a regularly licensed and registered physician under the laws of this state unless he or she practices dentistry as a specialty; or (b) The performance of mechanical work upon inanimate objects by persons working in dental offices under their supervision; or (c) The operation of a dental laboratory and taking work by written work authorization from regularly licensed and registered dentists as provided for elsewhere in this chapter; or (d) Dentists from outside the state from giving educational clinics or demonstrations before a dental society, convention or association; or (e) Licensed dentists from outside the state from being called into Mississippi by licensed dentists of this state for consultative or operative purposes when the consultative or operative purposes have been authorized or approved by the Board of Dental Examiners for specified periods of time or as provided for by rules and regulations set forth by the board; or (f) Applicants for a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in this state from working during an examination by and under the supervision and direction of the Board of Dental Examiners; or (g) The practice of dentistry or of dental hygiene by students under the supervision of faculty in any dental school, college, or dental department of any school, college or university, or school of dental hygiene recognized by the board; or (h) Dental or dental hygiene students enrolled in accredited dental or dental hygiene schools from participating in off-site training recognized and approved by the board, but those activities shall not be carried on for profit; or (i) A regularly licensed and registered dentist from the delegation of procedures to a regularly licensed and registered dental hygienist or other competent dental auxiliary personnel while acting under the direct supervision and full responsibility of the dentist except as follows: Those procedures that require the professional judgment and skill of a dentist such as diagnosis, treatment planning, surgical procedures involving hard or soft tissues, or any intra-oral procedure of an irreversible nature that could result in injury to the patient. However, the dentist may delegate the removal of calcareous deposits only to a regularly licensed and registered dental hygienist as regulated by the State Board of Dental Examiners. All dentists and dental hygienists serving as faculty, as provided for in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section, shall be required to be licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners. CERTIFICATION OF DENTAL SPECIALISTS Any dentist of this state licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners, who has complied with the requirements specified by the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association, or its successor council or commission, in a specialty branch of dentistry or who has otherwise met the requirements of the rules and regulations promulgated by the board may apply for a certificate as a specialist. The application shall be accompanied by the payment of a fee not to exceed the fee provided for in Section 73-9-43 and the application must be on file for at least sixty (60) days before the regular meeting of the board, and if the application is accepted the applicant may be notified to appear for examination before the board and a committee of that particular specialty, if available, appointed by the board. Examinations may be oral, written, or both, and the applicant may be required to demonstrate his or her knowledge and proficiency in the specialty in which he or she desires to be certified. The board is authorized to certify specialists in all specialty areas approved by the American Dental Association. Any dentist not licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners but who is eligible to take the Mississippi State Board examination, and is further eligible for specialty examination, may take both examinations at the discretion of the board. No licensed dentist shall hold himself or herself out to the public as a specialist, or publicly announce as being specially qualified in any particular branch of dentistry, or publicly announce as giving special attention to any branch of dentistry, until he or she has been issued a certificate by the board authorizing him or her to do so. Failure to comply shall be cause for his or her dental license to be revoked or suspended. Only the following shall be eligible to announce as specialists: (a) A diplomate of a specialty board approved by the American Dental Association; (b) A dentist who has complied with requirements as specified by the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association, or its successor council or commission, for graduate training in the specialty sought to be announced, the training to meet the educational or training requirement for diplomate status; 17 (c) A dentist who has announced a specialized practice in one (1) of the special areas of dental practice within the State of Mississippi for at least five (5) years before January 1, 1970, and who meets the requirements elsewhere in this section may be granted a specialist certificate upon application and payment only of an initial specialty registration fee. A dentist specialist's certificate shall be revoked or voided upon the revocation or voiding of the holder's license to practice dentistry in Mississippi.