32-1201

32-1201. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Auxiliary personnel" means all dental assistants, dental technicians, dental
x-ray technicians and other persons employed by dentists or firms and businesses
providing dental services to dentists.

2. "Board" means the state board of dental examiners.

3. "Business entity" means a business organization that has an ownership that
includes any persons who are not licensed or certified to provide dental services in this
state, that offers to the public professional services regulated by the board and that is
established pursuant to the laws of any state or foreign country.

4. "Dental assistant" means any person who acts as an assistant to a dentist or a
dental hygienist by rendering personal services to a patient that involve close proximity
to the patient while the patient is under treatment or observation or undergoing
diagnostic procedures.

5. "Dental hygienist" means any person licensed and engaged in the general practice
of dental hygiene and all related and associated duties, including educational, clinical
and therapeutic dental hygiene procedures.

6. "Dental incompetence" means lacking in sufficient dentistry knowledge or skills,
or both, in that field of dentistry in which the dentist, denturist or dental hygienist
concerned engages, to a degree likely to endanger the health of that person's patients.

7. "Dental laboratory technician" means any person, other than a licensed dentist,
who, pursuant to a written work order of a dentist, fabricates artificial teeth,
prosthetic appliances or other mechanical and artificial contrivances designed to correct
or alleviate injuries or defects, both developmental and acquired, disorders or
deficiencies of the human oral cavity, teeth, investing tissues, maxilla or mandible or
adjacent associated structures.

8. "Dental x-ray laboratory technician" means any person, other than a licensed
dentist, who, pursuant to a written work order of a dentist, performs dental and
maxillofacial radiography, including cephalometrics, panoramic and maxillofacial
tomography and other dental related non-fluoroscopic diagnostic imaging modalities.

9. "Dentistry", "dentist" and "dental" means the general practice of dentistry and
all specialties or restricted practices of dentistry.

10. "Denturist" means a person practicing denture technology pursuant to article 5
of this chapter.

11. "Disciplinary action" means regulatory sanctions that are imposed by the board
in combination with, or as an alternative to, revocation or suspension of a license and
that may include:

(a) Imposition of an administrative penalty in an amount not to exceed two thousand
dollars for each violation of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.

(b) Imposition of restrictions on the scope of practice.

(d) Imposition of censure or probation requirements best adapted to protect the
public welfare, which may include a requirement for restitution to the patient resulting
from violations of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.

12. "Irregularities in billing" means submitting any claim, bill or government
assistance claim to any patient, responsible party or third-party payor for dental
services rendered that is materially false with the intent to receive unearned income and
as evidenced by any of the following:

(a) Charges for services not rendered.

(b) Any treatment date that does not accurately reflect the date when the service
and procedures were actually completed.

(d) Any charge for a service or procedure that cannot be clinically justified or
determined to be necessary.

(e) Any statement that is material to the claim and that the licensee knows is
false or misleading.

(f) An abrogation of the copayment provisions of a dental insurance contract by a
waiver of all or a part of the copayment from the patient if this results in an excessive
or fraudulent charge to a third party or if the waiver is used as an enticement to
receive dental services from that provider. This subdivision does not interfere with a
contractual relationship between a third-party payor and a licensee or business entity
registered with the board.

(g) Any other practice in billing that results in excessive or fraudulent charges
to the patient.

13. "Letter of concern" means an advisory letter to notify a licensee or a
registered business entity that, while the evidence does not warrant disciplinary action,
the board believes that the licensee or registered business entity should modify or
eliminate certain practices and that continuation of the activities that led to the
information being submitted to the board may result in board action against the
practitioner's license or the business entity's registration. A letter of concern is not
a disciplinary action. A letter of concern is a public document and may be used in a
future disciplinary action.

14. "Licensed" means licensed pursuant to this chapter.

15. "Place of practice" means each physical location at which a person licensed
pursuant to this chapter performs services subject to this chapter.

16. "Primary mailing address" means the address on file with the board and to which
official board correspondence, notices or documents are delivered in a manner determined
by the board.

17. "Recognized dental hygiene school" means a school that has a dental hygiene
program with a minimum two academic year curriculum, or the equivalent of four semesters,
and that is approved by the board and accredited by the American dental association
commission on dental accreditation.

18. "Recognized dental school" means a dental school accredited by the American
dental association commission on dental accreditation.

19. "Recognized denturist school" means a denturist school that maintains standards
of entrance, study and graduation and that is accredited by the United States department
of education or the council on higher education accreditation.

20. "Supervised personnel" means all dental hygienists, dental assistants, dental
laboratory technicians, denturists, dental x-ray laboratory technicians and other persons
supervised by licensed dentists.

21. "Unprofessional conduct" means the following acts, whether occurring in this
state or elsewhere:

(a) Intentional betrayal of a professional confidence or intentional violation of a
privileged communication except as either of these may otherwise be required by law.
This subdivision does not prevent members of the board from the full and free exchange of
information with the licensing and disciplinary boards of other states, territories or
districts of the United States or foreign countries, with the Arizona state dental
association or any of its component societies or with the dental societies of other
states, counties, districts, territories or foreign countries.

(b) Using controlled substances as defined in section 36-2501, narcotic drugs,
dangerous drugs or marijuana as defined in section 13-3401, or hypnotic drugs, including
acetylurea derivatives, barbituric acid derivatives, chloral, paraldehyde,
phenylhydantoin derivatives, sulfonmethane derivatives or any compounds, mixtures or
preparations that may be used for producing hypnotic effects, or alcohol to the extent
that it affects the ability of the dentist, denturist or dental hygienist to practice
that person's profession.

(c) Prescribing, dispensing or using drugs for other than accepted dental
therapeutic purposes or for other than medically indicated supportive therapy in
conjunction with managing a patient's dental needs.

(d) Gross malpractice, or repeated acts constituting malpractice.

(e) Acting or assuming to act as a member of the board if this is not true.

(f) Procuring or attempting to procure a certificate of the national board of
dental examiners or a license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene by fraud or
misrepresentation or by knowingly taking advantage of the mistake of another.

(g) Having professional connection with or lending one's name to an illegal
practitioner of dentistry or any of the other healing arts.

(h) Representing that a manifestly not correctable condition, disease, injury,
ailment or infirmity can be permanently corrected, or that a correctable condition,
disease, injury, ailment or infirmity can be corrected within a stated time, if this is
not true.

(i) Offering, undertaking or agreeing to correct, cure or treat a condition,
disease, injury, ailment or infirmity by a secret means, method, device or
instrumentality.

(j) Refusing to divulge to the board, on reasonable notice and demand, the means,
method, device or instrumentality used in the treatment of a condition, disease, injury,
ailment or infirmity.

(k) Giving or receiving, or aiding or abetting the giving or receiving, of rebates,
either directly or indirectly.

(l) Knowingly making any false or fraudulent statement, written or oral, in
connection with the practice of dentistry.

(m) Refusal, revocation or suspension of a license or any other disciplinary action
taken against a dentist by, or the voluntary surrender of a license in lieu of
disciplinary action to, any other state, territory, district or country, unless the board
finds that this action was not taken for reasons that relate to the person's ability to
safely and skillfully practice dentistry or to any act of unprofessional conduct.

(n) Any conduct or practice that constitutes a danger to the health, welfare or
safety of the patient or the public.

(o) Obtaining a fee by fraud or misrepresentation, or wilfully or intentionally
filing a fraudulent claim with a third party for services rendered or to be rendered to a
patient.

(p) Repeated irregularities in billing.

(q) Employing unlicensed persons to perform or aiding and abetting unlicensed
persons in the performance of work that can be done legally only by licensed persons.

(r) Practicing dentistry under a false or assumed name in this state, other than as
allowed by section 32-1262.

(s) Wilfully or intentionally causing or permitting supervised personnel or
auxiliary personnel operating under the licensee's supervision to commit illegal acts or
perform an act or operation other than that permitted under article 4 of this chapter and
rules adopted by the board pursuant to section 32-1282.

(t) The following advertising practices:

(i) The publication or circulation, directly or indirectly, of any false,
fraudulent or misleading statements concerning the skill, methods or practices of the
licensee or of any other person.

(ii) Advertising in any manner that tends to deceive or defraud the public.

(u) Failing to dispense drugs and devices in compliance with article 6 of this
chapter.

(v) Failing to comply with a final board order, including an order of censure or
probation.

(w) Failing to comply with a board subpoena in a timely manner.

(x) Failing or refusing to maintain adequate patient records.

(y) Failing to allow properly authorized board personnel, on demand, to inspect the
place of practice and examine and have access to documents, books, reports and records
maintained by the licensee or certificate holder that relate to the dental practice or
dentally related activity.

(z) Refusing to submit to a body fluid examination as required through a monitored
treatment program or pursuant to a board investigation into a licensee's or certificate
holder's alleged substance abuse.

(aa) Failing to inform a patient of the type of material the dentist will use in
the patient's dental filling and the reason why the dentist is using that particular
filling.

(bb) Failing to report in writing to the board any evidence that a dentist,
denturist or dental hygienist is or may be:

(i) Professionally incompetent.

(ii) Engaging in unprofessional conduct.

(iii) Impaired by drugs or alcohol.

(iv) Mentally or physically unable to safely engage in the activities of a dentist,
denturist or dental hygienist pursuant to this chapter.

(cc) Filing a false report pursuant to subdivision (bb) of this paragraph.

(dd) Practicing dentistry, dental hygiene or denturism in a business entity that is
not registered with the board as required by section 32-1213.