Florida Senate - 2022 SB 926
By Senator Albritton
26-00972A-22 2022926__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to licensure examinations for dental
3 practitioners; amending s. 466.006, F.S.; revising
4 licensure examination requirements for dentists to
5 require applicants to demonstrate certain clinical
6 skills on a manikin rather than a live patient;
7 amending s. 466.0065, F.S.; revising requirements for
8 regional licensure examinations offered by dental
9 schools to dental students; amending s. 466.007, F.S.;
10 revising licensure examination requirements for dental
11 hygienists to require applicants to demonstrate
12 certain clinical skills on a manikin rather than a
13 live patient; repealing s. 466.0075, F.S.; deleting a
14 requirement that applicants for dental practitioner
15 licensure examinations maintain medical malpractice
16 insurance to cover any incident of harm to a patient
17 during the clinical examination; providing an
18 effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
23 466.006, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
24 466.006 Examination of dentists.—
25 (5)(a) The practical examination required under subsection
26 (4) is shall be the American Dental Licensing Examination
27 developed by the American Board of Dental Examiners, Inc., or
28 its successor entity, if any, provided the board finds that the
29 successor entity’s clinical examination complies with the
30 provisions of this section, and must shall include, at a
31 minimum:
32 1. A comprehensive diagnostic skills examination covering
33 the full scope of dentistry and an examination on applied
34 clinical diagnosis and treatment planning in dentistry for
35 dental candidates;
36 2. Two restorations on a manikin that has typodont teeth
37 with simulated caries as approved by the Commission on Dental
38 Competency Assessments live patient or patients. The board by
39 rule shall determine the class of such restorations;
40 3. A demonstration of periodontal skills on a manikin that
41 has typodont teeth with simulated caries as approved by the
42 Commission on Dental Competency Assessments live patient;
43 4. A demonstration of prosthetics and restorative skills in
44 complete and partial dentures and crowns and bridges and the
45 utilization of practical methods of evaluation, specifically
46 including the evaluation by the candidate of completed
47 laboratory products such as, but not limited to, crowns and
48 inlays filled to prepared model teeth;
49 5. A demonstration of restorative skills on a manikin
50 mannequin which requires the candidate to complete procedures
51 performed in preparation for a cast restoration;
52 6. A demonstration of endodontic skills; and
53 7. A diagnostic skills examination demonstrating ability to
54 diagnose conditions within the human oral cavity and its
55 adjacent tissues and structures from photographs, slides,
56 radiographs, or models pursuant to rules of the board. If an
57 applicant fails to pass the diagnostic skills examination in
58 three attempts, the applicant is shall not be eligible for
59 reexamination unless she or he completes additional educational
60 requirements established by the board.
61
62 The department shall require a mandatory standardization
63 exercise for all examiners prior to each practical or clinical
64 examination and shall retain for employment only those dentists
65 who have substantially adhered to the standard of grading
66 established at such exercise.
67 Section 2. Paragraphs (c), (e), and (j) of subsection (2)
68 of section 466.0065, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
69 466.0065 Regional licensure examinations.—
70 (2) Each school of dentistry in this state which is
71 accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American
72 Dental Association or its successor agency may, upon written
73 approval by the Board of Dentistry, offer regional licensure
74 examinations only to dental students in the final year of a
75 program at an approved dental school, if the board has approved
76 the hosting school’s written plan to comply with the following
77 conditions:
78 (c) The student must possess medical malpractice insurance
79 in amounts not less than the amounts required to take the
80 Florida licensure examinations.
81 (e) Adequate arrangements, as defined by the regional
82 examination body and as otherwise required by law, must be made,
83 when necessary, for patients who require followup care as a
84 result of procedures performed during the clinical portion of
85 the regional examination. The regional examination body must
86 inform patients in writing of their right to followup care in
87 advance of any procedures performed by a student.
88 (j) The student’s academic record must not include any
89 evidence suggesting that the student poses an unreasonable risk
90 to any live patients who are required for the clinical portion
91 of the regional examination. In order to protect the health and
92 safety of the public, the dental school may request additional
93 information and documents pertaining to the candidate’s mental
94 and physical health in order to fully assess the candidate’s
95 fitness to engage in exercises involving a live patient.
96 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
97 466.007, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
98 466.007 Examination of dental hygienists.—
99 (4) Effective July 1, 2012, to be licensed as a dental
100 hygienist in this state, an applicant must successfully complete
101 the following:
102 (b) A practical or clinical examination approved by the
103 board. The examination shall be the Dental Hygiene Examination
104 produced by the American Board of Dental Examiners, Inc., (ADEX)
105 or its successor entity, if any, if the board finds that the
106 successor entity’s clinical examination meets or exceeds the
107 provisions of this section. The board shall approve the ADEX
108 Dental Hygiene Examination if the board has attained and
109 continues to maintain representation on the ADEX House of
110 Representatives, the ADEX Dental Hygiene Examination Development
111 Committee, and such other ADEX Dental Hygiene committees as the
112 board deems appropriate through rulemaking to ensure that the
113 standards established in this section are maintained
114 organizationally. The ADEX Dental Hygiene Examination or the
115 examination produced by its successor entity is a comprehensive
116 examination in which an applicant must demonstrate skills within
117 the dental hygiene scope of practice on a manikin that has
118 typodont teeth with simulated caries as approved by the
119 Commission on Dental Competency Assessments live patient and any
120 other components that the board deems necessary for the
121 applicant to successfully demonstrate competency for the purpose
122 of licensure.
123 Section 4. Section 466.0075, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
124 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.