STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4676
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the profession of
denturology
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The article heading of article 133 of the education law, as
2 added by chapter 987 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
3 DENTISTRY [AND], DENTAL HYGIENE
4 AND DENTUROLOGY
5 § 2. Section 6600 of the education law, as added by chapter 987 of the
6 laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
7 § 6600. Introduction. This article applies to the professions of
8 dentistry [and], dental hygiene and denturology. The general provisions
9 for all professions contained in article one hundred thirty of this
10 title apply to this article.
11 § 3. Section 6603 of the education law, as amended by chapter 393 of
12 the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
13 § 6603. State board for dentistry. A state board for dentistry shall
14 be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commis-
15 sioner for the purpose of assisting the board of regents and the depart-
16 ment on matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in
17 accordance with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The
18 board shall be composed of not less than thirteen dentists licensed in
19 this state for at least five years, not less than five denturology
20 educators practicing in this state for at least five years, not less
21 than three dental hygienists licensed in this state for at least five
22 years, and not less than one certified dental assistant licensed in this
23 state for at least one year. An executive secretary to the board shall
24 be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commis-
25 sioner and shall be a dentist licensed in this state.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03728-01-7
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1 § 4. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 6610 of the education law, as
2 added by chapter 987 of the laws of 1971, are amended to read as
3 follows:
4 4. An employee of a federal agency from using the title of and prac-
5 ticing as a dentist [or], dental hygienist or denturologist insofar as
6 such activities are required by his salaried position;
7 5. A dentist [or], a dental hygienist or a denturologist licensed in
8 some other state or country from making a teaching clinical demon-
9 stration before a regularly organized dental or medical society or
10 group, or from meeting licensed dentists in this state for consultation,
11 provided such activities are limited to such demonstration or consulta-
12 tion.
13 § 5. Section 6610 of the education law is amended by adding a new
14 subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
15 3-a. A student from engaging in clinical practice as part of a regis-
16 tered program operated by a school of denturology under supervision of a
17 dentist holding a license or limited permit for instructing in dentistry
18 in a school of denturology.
19 § 6. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 7 of section 6611 of the education law,
20 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 576 of the laws of 2001, subdivi-
21 sions 2 and 3 as added by chapter 987 of the laws of 1971 and subdivi-
22 sion 7 as amended by chapter 649 of the laws of 2006, are amended to
23 read as follows:
24 1. Except upon the written dental laboratory prescription of a
25 licensed dentist or a licensed denturologist and except by the use of
26 impressions or casts made by a licensed dentist, no dental laboratory
27 shall furnish, supply, construct, reproduce, place, adjust, or repair
28 any dental prosthesis, device, or appliance. A dental laboratory
29 prescription shall be made out in duplicate. It shall contain such data
30 as may be prescribed by the commissioner's regulations. One copy shall
31 be retained by the practitioner of dentistry or denturology for a period
32 of one year. The other copy shall be issued to the person, firm or
33 corporation engaged in filling dental laboratory prescriptions, who or
34 which shall each retain and file in their respective offices or places
35 of business their respective copies for a period of one year.
36 2. The department is empowered to inspect and to have access to all
37 places, including the office or offices of a licensed dentist, where
38 copies of dental laboratory prescriptions issued by him or a licensed
39 denturologist under his or her supervision are retained as required by
40 this section, and to all places where dental laboratory prescriptions
41 are filled or to any workroom or workrooms in which prosthetic restora-
42 tions, prosthetic dentures, bridges, orthodontic or other appliances or
43 structures to be used as substitutes for natural teeth or tissue or for
44 the correction of malocclusion or deformities are made, repaired or
45 altered, with power to subpoena and examine records of dental laboratory
46 prescriptions. A person who fails to grant access to such places or who
47 fails to maintain prescriptions as required by this section shall be
48 guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
49 3. The department may arrange for the conduct of clinical examinations
50 in the clinic of any school of dentistry [or], dental hygiene or dentu-
51 rology, within or outside the state for dental [or], dental hygiene or
52 denturology candidates.
53 7. Any dentist [or], dental hygienist or denturologist, who in the
54 performance of dental services, x-rays the mouth or teeth of a patient
55 shall during the performance of such x-rays shield the torso and thyroid
56 area of such patient including but not limited to the gonads and other
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1 reproductive organs with a lead apron thyroid collar, or other similar
2 protective garment or device. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
3 subdivision, if in the dentist's professional judgment the use of a
4 thyroid collar would be inappropriate under the circumstances, because
5 of the nature of the patient, the type of x-ray being taken, or other
6 factors, the dentist [or], dental hygienist or denturologist need not
7 shield the thyroid area.
8 § 7. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 6612 of the education law, as
9 added by chapter 332 of the laws of 1985, are amended to read as
10 follows:
11 1. Except as provided herein, every dentist or denturologist licensed
12 in this state making or directing to be made a removable prosthetic
13 denture, bridge, appliance or other structure to be used and worn as a
14 substitute for natural teeth, shall offer to the patient for whom the
15 prosthesis is intended the opportunity to have such prosthesis marked
16 with the patient's name or initials. Such markings shall be accomplished
17 at the time the prosthesis is made and the location and methods used to
18 apply or implant them shall be determined by the dentist [or], the
19 person acting on behalf of the dentist or the denturologist. Such mark-
20 ing shall be permanent, legible and cosmetically acceptable.
21 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if in the judgment of the dentist
22 [or], the person making the prosthesis or the denturologist, such iden-
23 tification is not practicable or clinically safe, the identification
24 marks may be omitted entirely.
25 § 8. The education law is amended by adding six new sections 6614,
26 6615, 6616, 6617, 6618 and 6619 to read as follows:
27 § 6614. Definition of practice of denturology. The practice of dentu-
28 rology includes prescribing and fabrication of dental prostheses,
29 including the taking of denture impressions and bite registration for
30 the purpose of or with a view to the making, producing, reproducing,
31 construction, finishing, supplying, altering or repairing of a complete
32 upper or complete lower or partial upper or partial lower prosthetic
33 denture, or any combination thereof, to be fitted to an edentulous arch
34 or arches. The practice of denturology may be conducted in the office of
35 any licensed dentist or in an appropriately equipped school or public
36 institution but must be done under the supervision of a licensed
37 dentist, provided, however, the final fitting of any partial or full
38 prosthetic denture shall be done by a dentist.
39 § 6615. Practice of denturology and use of the title "denturologist".
40 Only a person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice under this
41 article shall practice denturology and use the title "denturologist".
42 § 6616. Requirements for a license as a denturologist. To qualify for
43 a license as a denturologist, an applicant shall fulfill the following
44 requirements:
45 1. Application: file an application with the department;
46 2. Education: have received an education, including high school gradu-
47 ation and completion of a bachelor's degree in a program in denturology,
48 in accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
49 3. Experience: have experience satisfactory to the board and in
50 accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
51 4. Examination: pass an examination satisfactory to the board and in
52 accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
53 5. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age;
54 6. Citizenship or immigration status: be a United States citizen or an
55 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States;
56 provided, however, that the board of regents may grant a three year
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1 waiver for an alien to practice in an area which has been designated a
2 federal dental health professions shortage area, except that the board
3 of regents may grant an additional extension not to exceed six years to
4 an alien to enable him or her to secure citizenship or permanent resi-
5 dent status, provided such status is being actively pursued;
6 7. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart-
7 ment; and
8 8. Fees: pay a fee of one hundred fifty dollars to the department for
9 admission to a department conducted examination and for an initial
10 license, a fee of one hundred dollars for each reexamination, a fee of
11 one hundred dollars for an initial license for persons not requiring
12 admission to a department conducted examination, and a fee of one
13 hundred dollars for each triennial registration period.
14 § 6617. Mandatory continuing education for denturologists. 1. (a) Each
15 denturologist, licensed pursuant to this article and required to regis-
16 ter triennially with the department to practice in this state shall
17 comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing education
18 requirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
19 subdivision. Denturologists who do not satisfy the mandatory continuing
20 education requirements shall not practice until they have met such
21 requirements and have been issued a registration or conditional regis-
22 tration certificate.
23 (b) Denturologists shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing
24 education requirement for the triennial registration period during which
25 they are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section,
26 adjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be
27 granted by the department for reasons of health, certified by a physi-
28 cian, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United
29 States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may
30 prevent compliance.
31 (c) A denturologist not engaged in the practice of denturology shall
32 be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement upon the
33 filing of a statement with the department declaring such status. Any
34 licensee who returns to the practice of denturology during the triennial
35 registration period shall notify the department prior to reentering the
36 profession and shall meet such mandatory continuing education require-
37 ments as shall be prescribed by regulation of the commissioner.
38 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for regis-
39 tration shall complete a minimum of thirty-five hours of acceptable
40 formal continuing education including currently mandated child abuse
41 reporting instructions and infection control training as approved by the
42 department. Of these thirty-five hours a maximum of ten hours may be
43 self-instructional coursework as approved by the department. Any dentu-
44 rologist whose first registration date following the effective date of
45 this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but
46 on and after January first, two thousand nineteen, shall complete
47 continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and
48 one-quarter hours per month for the period beginning January first, two
49 thousand eighteen up to the first registration date thereafter. A licen-
50 see who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education require-
51 ments shall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by the
52 department and shall not practice unless and until a conditional regis-
53 tration certificate is issued as provided in subdivision three of this
54 section. The individual licensee shall determine the selection of cours-
55 es or programs of study pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
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1 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional regis-
2 tration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
3 requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who
4 agrees to make up any deficiencies and take any additional education
5 which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional regis-
6 tration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the trien-
7 nial registration. The duration of such conditional registration shall
8 be determined by the department. Any licensee who is notified of the
9 denial of registration for failure to submit evidence, satisfactory to
10 the department, of completion of required continuing education and who
11 practices denturology without such registration, may be subject to
12 disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of
13 this title.
14 4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education"
15 shall mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional
16 practice and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations of the
17 commissioner. To fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement,
18 programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the department, pursu-
19 ant to the regulations of the commissioner.
20 5. The mandatory continuing education fee of thirty-five dollars shall
21 be payable on or before the first day of each triennial registration
22 period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial registration fee
23 required by section sixty-six hundred sixteen of this article.
24 § 6618. Limited permits. The department shall issue a limited permit
25 to an applicant who meets all requirements for admission to the licens-
26 ing examination. All practice under a limited permit shall be under the
27 direct personal supervision of a dentist. Limited permits shall be for
28 one year and may be renewed at the discretion of the department for one
29 additional year. The fee for each limited permit and for each renewal
30 shall be forty dollars.
31 § 6619. Rules and regulations for denturology. The commissioner shall
32 promulgate rules and regulations regarding the curriculum required for a
33 license in denturology. Such curriculum shall include, but shall not be
34 limited to instruction in:
35 1. head and neck anatomy;
36 2. anatomy and physiology;
37 3. dental material;
38 4. dental histology;
39 5. denturology theory and practice;
40 6. infection control;
41 7. preventive dentistry;
42 8. pharmacology;
43 9. medical terminology;
44 10. pathophysiology-oral cavity;
45 11. gerontology;
46 12. radiology; and
47 13. applied kinesiology.
48 § 9. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
49 the date on which it shall have become a law.