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2019 SESSION


CHAPTER 290
An Act to amend and reenact § 54.1-2701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to volunteer dentists and dental hygienists.
[H 2184]
Approved March 8, 2019

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 54.1-2701 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-2701. Exemptions.

This chapter shall not:

1. Apply to a licensed physician or surgeon unless he practices dentistry as a specialty;

2. Apply to a nurse practitioner certified by the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medicine except that intraoral procedures shall be performed only under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist;

3. Apply to a dentist or a dental hygienist of the United States Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Public Health Service, or Department of Veterans Affairs;

4. Apply to any dentist of the United States Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Air Force rendering services voluntarily and without compensation while deemed to be licensed pursuant to § 54.1-106;

5. Apply to any dentist or dental hygienist who (i) does not regularly practice dentistry in Virginia, (ii) holds a current valid license or certificate to practice as a dentist or dental hygienist in another state, territory, district or possession of the United States, (iii) volunteers to provide free health care to an underserved area of this the Commonwealth under the auspices of a publicly supported all volunteer, nonprofit organization that sponsors the provision of health care to populations of underserved people, (iv) files a copy of the license or certificate issued in such other jurisdiction with the Board, (v) notifies the Board at least 15 five days prior to the voluntary provision of services of the dates and location of such service, and (vi) acknowledges, in writing, that such licensure exemption shall only be valid, in compliance with the Board's regulations, during the limited period that such free health care is made available through the volunteer, nonprofit organization on the dates and at the location filed with the Board. Clauses (iv), (v), and (vi) shall not apply to dentists and dental hygienists volunteering to provide free health care to an underserved area of the Commonwealth under the auspices of a publicly supported nonprofit organization that sponsors the provision of health care to populations of underserved people if they do so for a period not exceeding three consecutive days and if the nonprofit organization verifies that the practitioner has a valid, unrestricted license in another state. The Board may deny the right to practice in Virginia to any dentist or dental hygienist whose license has been previously suspended or revoked, who has been convicted of a felony, or who is otherwise found to be in violation of applicable laws or regulations; or

6. Prevent an office assistant from performing usual secretarial duties or other assistance as set forth in regulations promulgated by the Board.