2025 -- H 6240
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LC002584
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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A N A C T
RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS-DENTISTS AND DENTAL
HYGIENISTS
Introduced By: Representatives Cruz, Potter, Sanchez, Giraldo, Alzate, Stewart, Morales,
Batista, Furtado, and Felix
Date Introduced: April 17, 2025
Referred To: House Corporations
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5-31.1-22 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-31.1 entitled "Dentists 1
and Dental Hygienists" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
5-31.1-22. Limited registrations Limited registrations of dentists. 3
(a)(1) An applicant for limited registration under this chapter who furnishes the board with 4
satisfactory proof that the applicant is eighteen (18) years of age or older and of good moral 5
character, that the applicant has graduated from a dental school accredited by the American Dental 6
Association Commission on Dental Accreditation or its designated agency and approved by the 7
board, and or that they have been employed as a member of the faculty of a school of dentistry 8
accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, or its 9
designated agency or that the applicant has been appointed an intern, resident, fellow, or dental 10
officer in a hospital or other institution maintained by the state, or by a city or town, or in a hospital 11
or clinic that is incorporated under the laws of this state or in a clinic that is affiliated with a hospital 12
licensed by the department of health, or in an outpatient clinic operated by the state, may, upon the 13
payment as set forth in § 23-1-54, be registered by the board as a hospital dental officer for any 14
time that the board prescribes; but that limited registration entitles the applicant to practice dentistry 15
in the hospital or other institution designated on his or her certificate of limited registration, or 16
outside that hospital or other institution for the treatment, under the supervision of one of its dental 17
officers who is a licensed dentist, in the state of persons accepted by it as patients, or in any hospital, 18
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institution, clinic, or program affiliated for training purposes with the hospital, institution, or clinic 1
designated on this certificate, which affiliation is approved by the board, and in any case under 2
regulations established by that hospital, institution, or clinic. Each hospital, institution, or clinic 3
shall annually submit to the board a list of training programs that comply with the terms of this 4
section. 5
(2) Practice under any such original or renewal limited registration so issued by the board 6
shall be limited to no longer than five (5) years unless said applicant passes a clinical examination 7
administered by the board or is a full-time faculty member. 8
(3) Any applicant who has practiced under an original or renewed license for five (5) years 9
and who has passed a clinical examination administered by the board may qualify for a renewal of 10
such license for a period not to exceed five (5) years in which the applicant may continue to practice 11
in a hospital or other institution designated on their registration and under the direction of a 12
registered dentist employed therein. 13
(b)(1) A limited registration shall entitle an applicant to practice dentistry only in the 14
hospital or other institution designated on their registration and under the direction of a registered 15
dentist or a special registration dentist employed therein. Limited registration under this section 16
may be revoked at any time by the board and a holder of such a limited registration shall not practice 17
dentistry in a private dental office or private dental clinic. 18
(2) A full-time faculty member may participate in, and only in, an intramural group dental 19
practice which is operated, managed and physically located within a nonprofit dental educational 20
or research institution and their affiliated hospitals in which the full-time faculty member is 21
employed. 22
(c)(1) Upon the completion of ten (10) years of practice under any original or renewal 23
license authorized by subsection (a) of this section, an applicant may apply for a special registration. 24
A special registration shall entitle an applicant to practice dentistry in the hospital or other 25
institution designated on their registration and in any private dental practice where RIte Care is 26
accepted without the supervision of a registered dentist. 27
(2) The applicant shall practice dentistry in equal amounts in: 28
(i) The hospital or other institution designated on their registration; and 29
(ii) Any private dental practice where RIte Care is accepted. 30
(d) A dentist who has obtained not less than five (5) years of lawful practice in a foreign 31
country or province who presents to the board a certificate of registration and duration of practice 32
from the foreign country or province’s board of registration of dentistry or equivalent entity may 33
apply for a limited registration; provided, however, that such other jurisdictions shall require a 34
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degree of competency determined by the board to be comparable to that required of examinees in 1
this state. 2
(e) The board and/or the director may promulgate any rules and regulations that may be 3
necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 4
Limited registration under this section may be revoked at any time by the board. The board 5
and/or the director may promulgate any rules and regulations that it deems necessary to carry out 6
the provisions of this section. 7
SECTION 2. Chapter 5-33.1 of the General Laws entitled "Funeral Service Contracts" is 8
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 9
5-33.1-22.1. Limited registration of dental hygienists. 10
The board may examine a person of good moral character who is not less than nineteen 11
(19) years of age, upon the payment of the fee set forth in § 23-1-54, to the department of health, 12
in subjects considered essential for a dental hygienist and, if the results of the person’s examination 13
are satisfactory, the person shall receive a limited registration as a dental hygienist and be given a 14
certificate allowing them to practice dental hygiene if they are: 15
(1) A graduate of a school for dental hygienists that: 16
(i) Is accredited or recognized as accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation 17
of the American Dental Association; and 18
(ii) Requires a course of not less than one academic year that is approved by the board; 19
(2) A full-time dental student who has satisfactorily completed not less than four (4) full 20
semesters in an accredited dental college; or 21
(3) A graduate from an accredited dental college who has not previously been examined 22
by the board in subjects considered by the board to be essential for a dental hygienist. 23
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 24
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS-DENTISTS AND DENTAL
HYGIENISTS
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This act would allow for the expansion of limited registrations of dentists and dental 1
hygienists. 2
This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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