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Dental Boards
A recent petition to the North Carolina Medical Board (medical board) proposes to change the North Carolina General Statutes section 150B-20(a) requiring any non-physician health care provider who uses the designation “Doctor” to (a) identify the specific type of license under which he/she is authorized to practice by wearing an identification badge and (b) verbally disclose to patients the specific type of license or certification under which he/she is licensed to practice.
The North Carolina Dental Society (NCDS), with the support of the North Carolina AGD, transmitted a letter to the executive director of the medical board that detailed dentistry’s objections to the proposed rule. In addition to concerns about the rule’s requirements, dentistry took issue with it because the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners is charged with the regulation of the practice of dentistry in the state. As dentists would not fall under the jurisdiction of the medical board, the NCDS asserted that the medical board lacks the authority to propose rules that affect health care professionals not under that board’s jurisdiction.
The North Carolina Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (NCSOMS), also disagreed with this proposal, saying, “Although the petition specifically excludes settings in which only non-physician health care providers function, such as a dental office, this petition would impact NCSOMS members as well as any dentist who practices in non-office settings such as hospitals, surgical centers, or other outpatient clinics where physicians may be present.” Additionally asserted was the fact that dentists have earned the right to use the title “doctor” and should not be put in a possibly discriminatory situation where they would have to wear an identification badge when practicing in settings where physicians are present.
As one AGD member put it, “Medical and dental doctors are finally working together in the areas of periodontal pathogens and sleep apnea. What is the possible motivation for medical professionals to pick a fight at this juncture? This is just a waste of time.”
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