Section 73-9-3 - "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.
Codes, 1930, § 4295; 1942, § 8747; Laws, 1928, ch. 131; Laws, 1970, ch. 418, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 1983, ch. 488, § 2; Laws, 1991, ch. 483, § 2; reenacted without change, Laws, 1997, ch. 541, § 2; Laws, 2000, ch. 560, § 1; reenacted and amended, Laws, 2002, ch. 524, § 2, eff. 6/30/2002.