Licensure Requirements - Florida Board of Dentistry

NEW! Dental Laboratory Application (pdf - 66kb) now available to print from your computer. Also Dental Laboratory Rules (Chapter 64B27 Dental Laboratory, Florida Administrative Code) (pdf - 58kb) and excerpt from Chapter 466 (pdf - 55kb), Florida Statutes pertaining to Dental Laboratories (s. 466.021, 466.031, 466.032, 466.033, 466.034, 466.035, 466.036, 466.037, 466.038 and 466.039).

Licensure Requirements

Dentist
Dental Hygienist

Please read all application instructions, and the laws and rules governing the practice of Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, Dental Radiography, before completing your application.

Once your application and fees are received and validated, you may be sent a postcard giving the date of receipt of the application to the mailing address given in your application. Within 30 days of this date, you will be sent a written application status notice or your eligibility letter, as applicable.

No application is complete until all required documentation and fees are received. Your application will not be processed until it is complete. Applications are reviewed in date order received.

Dentistry

An applicant shall be entitled to take the examination required in this section to practice dentistry in Florida if he/she:

Is 18 years of age or older;
Is a graduate of a dental school accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency, if any, or any other nationally recognized accrediting agency; or is a dental student in the final year of a program at such an accredited school who has completed all the coursework necessary to prepare the student to perform the clinical and diagnostic procedures required to pass the examinations. With respect to a dental student in the final year of a program at a dental school, a passing score on the examinations is valid for 180 days after the date the examinations were completed. A dental school student who takes the licensure examinations during the student’s final year of an approved dental school must have graduated before being certified for licensure pursuant to s. 466.011, F.S.;
Has successfully completed the American Dental Association National Board of Dental Examiners dental examination, Parts I and II, within 10 years of the date of application. If scores are older than ten years, must retake clinical examination (Part II).

If an applicant is a graduate of a dental college or school not accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of American Dental Association or of a dental college or school not approved by the board, he shall not be entitled to take the examination required in this section to practice dentistry until he/she:

Completes a program of study, as defined by the board by rule, at an accredited American dental school and demonstrates receipt of a D.D.S. or D.M.D. from said school; or
Completes a 2-year supplemental dental education program at an accredited dental school and receives a dental diploma, degree, or certificate as evidence of program completion. Refer to Rule 64B5-2.0146, F.A.C. for clarification.

Once qualified, an applicant must successfully complete the following to be licensed as a dentist in this state:

A written examination on the laws an rules of the state regulating the practice of dentistry;
A practical or clinical examination, which shall be administered and graded by dentists licensed in this state and employed by the department for just such purpose.

*The practical examination shall include:

Two restorations, and the board by rule shall determine the class of such restorations and whether they shall be performed on mannequins, live patients. or both. At least one restoration shall be on a live patient;
A demonstration of periodontal skills on a live patient.
A demonstration of prosthetics and restorative skills in complete and partial dentures and crowns and bridges and the utilization of practical methods of evaluation, specifically including the evaluation by the candidate of completed laboratory products such as, but not limited to, crowns and inlays filled to prepared model teeth.
A demonstration of restorative skills on a mannequin which requires the candidate to complete procedures performed in preparation for a cast restoration; and
A demonstration of endodontic skills.

*THE PRACTICAL EXAMINATION IS CHANGING EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2008. PLEASE REVIEW RULE 64B5-2.013 (pdf - 63kb), F.A.C.
If the applicant fails to pass the clinical examination in three attempts, he/she shall not be eligible for reexamination unless he/she completes additional educational requirements established by the board.

The board may by rule provide for additional procedures which are to be tested, provided such procedures shall be common to the practice of general dentistry. The board by rule shall determine the passing grade for each procedure and the acceptable variation for examiners.

Dental Hygiene

An applicant shall be entitled to take the examination required in this section to practice dental hygiene in Florida if he/she:

Is 18 years of age or older;
Is a graduate of a dental hygiene college or school accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency, if any;
Has successfully completed the National Board of Dental Hygiene examination within 10 years of the date of application.

Foreign graduates of a non-accredited dental college or school must demonstrate 4 academic years of postsecondary dental education and submit a dental school diploma which is comparable to a D.D.S. or D.M.D. The applicant must have successfully completed either the National Board of Dental Hygiene examination or the National Board of Dental Examiners dental examination, within 10 years of date of application. Applicants should contact Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE) www.ece.org, to obtain a “Health Professional Licensure” evaluation. If the HPL evaluation does not indicate that an applicant has completed the necessary coursework, the applicant must complete the coursework prior to being approved for examination. Please review the Rule 64B5-2.0144, F.A.C. (pdf - 31kb) concerning additional coursework requirements; an excerpt of the rule is provided below:
64B5-2.0144
(11)(a) Applicants applying for licensure under Section 466.007(2)(b)2., F.S., whose applications do not indicate they have obtained Dental Hygiene clinical education to the level of the clinical experience required by an American Dental Association (ADA) accredited Dental Hygiene program in the areas set forth in paragraph (11)(b) below, shall be required to obtain remedial coursework in those designated areas that applicant has not successfully completed that would meet the ADA clinical requirements at an ADA accredited dental hygiene school. Such additional coursework shall be obtained from a program accredited by the ADA, only after the applicant satisfies and the Board approves the education and testing requirements of subsections (3) through (10) above. Such additional coursework must be obtained by the applicant and approved by the Board prior to the applicant being allowed to sit for the Florida Dental Hygiene examination.
(b) The accredited clinical coursework referenced in paragraph (a) above shall be in the following areas:
1. Radiology: 15 hours didactic and 10 hours lab/clinical;
2. Prophylaxis Performance: 25 hours didactic and 100 hours clinical;
3. Infection Control: 10 hours didactic and 10 hours clinical;
4. Periodontal Therapy: 20 hours didactic and 30 hours clinical;
5. Pharmacology: 15 hours didactic and 10 hours clinical;
6. Biomedical Sciences: 10 hours didactic;
7. Clinical History Management: 10 hours didactic;
8. Special Patient Care: 5 hours didactic and 10 hours clinical; and
9. Training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the basic support level, including one- rescuer and two -rescuer CPR for adults, children, and infants; the use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED); and the use of ambu -bags. All such training shall be sufficient for and shall result in current certification or re-certification by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross or an entity with equivalent requirements;
(c) The additional coursework required by paragraph (11)(a) and (11)(b) of this rule must be obtained and approved by the Board prior to the applicant being allowed to sit for the Florida Dental Hygiene examination.
Once qualified, an applicant must successfully complete the following to be licensed as a dental hygienist in this state:

A written examination on the laws and rules of the state regulating the practice of dental hygiene.
A practical or clinical examination, which shall be administered and graded by dentists and dental hygienists licensed in this state and employed by the department for just such purpose.

The candidate will be required to perform a complete prophylaxis. In addition, root planing will be evaluated on four approved teeth.
If the applicant fails to pass the clinical examination in three attempts, he/she shall not be eligible for reexamination unless he/she completes additional educational requirements established by the board.