| (a) Disclosure of Full Name.
(1) Any person who practices dentistry under any name
or trade name must provide full and outward disclosure of his full
name as it appears on his license or renewal certificate issued by
the board, or his commonly used name.
(2) Any person who owns, maintains, or operates an
office or place of business in which the person employs or engages
under any type of contract another person to practice dentistry, either
directly or indirectly, under any name or trade name must provide
full and outward disclosure of his full name as it appears on his
license or renewal certificate issued by the board, or his commonly
used name.
(3) Any person who holds himself out to the public,
directly or indirectly, as soliciting patronage or as being qualified
to practice dentistry in the state of Texas under any name or trade
name must provide full and outward disclosure of his full name as
it appears on his license or renewal certificate issued by the board,
or his commonly used name.
(4) Any person who operates, manages, or is employed
in any facility where dental service is rendered or conducted under
any name or trade name must provide full and outward disclosure of
his full name as it appears on the license or renewal certificate
issued by the board, or his commonly used name.
(5) Any person who practices dentistry must display
his full name as it appears on his license or renewal certificate
issued by the board, or his commonly used name, outside the primary
entry of each location at which he practices dentistry.
(6) If the names of auxiliary personnel, such as dental
hygienists or dental assistants, are displayed in any manner or in
any advertising, the auxiliary personnel must be clearly identified
by title, along with the name of a supervising dentist.
(b) Name of Practice.
(1) Each dental office shall post at or near the entrance
of the office in an area visible to the public, the name of, each
professional degree received by and each school attended by each dentist
practicing in the office.
(2) The name of the owner shall be prominently displayed
and only the names of the dentists who are engaged in the practice
of the profession at a particular location shall be used.
(3) The name of a deceased or retired dentist leaving
a practice shall not be used at such location more than one (1) year
following departure from the practice. The name of a dentist leaving
a location for any other reason or transferring his or her practice
shall not be used at such location or practice for more than forty
(40) days following departure from the location. However, if the transferring
dentist remains actively engaged in the practice of dentistry in the
transferred practice, the acquiring dentist may continue using the
name of the transferring dentist.
(4) A licensed Texas dentist, in any professional communication
concerning dental services, shall include the dentist's dental degree;
the words "general dentist" or "general dentistry;" or an ADA approved
dental specialty if the dentist is a specialist in the field designated.
(5) A licensed Texas dentist who is also authorized
to practice medicine in Texas may use the initials "M.D." or "D.O."
along with the dentist's dental degree.
(c) Use of Trade Name.
(1) A dentist may practice under his or her own name,
or use a corporation, company, association or trade name as provided
by §259.003 of the Texas Occupations Code.
(2) A dentist practicing under a corporation, company,
association or trade name shall give each patient the name and license
number of the treating dentist, in writing, either before or after
each office visit, upon request of a patient.
(3) An advertisement under a corporation, company,
association or trade name must include prominently the name of the
owner(s) and at least one dentist actually engaged in the practice
of dentistry under that trade name at each location advertised. This
provision does not apply to location signage.
(4) Each dentist practicing under a corporation, company,
association or trade name shall file notice with the board of every
corporation, company, association or trade name under which that dentist
practices upon initial application for licensure and annual license
renewal.
(5) Since the name under which a dentist conducts his
or her practice may be a factor in the selection process of the patient,
the use of a trade name or an assumed name that is false or misleading
in any material respect is unethical.
(d) Responsibility. The responsibility for the form
and content of an advertisement offering services or goods by a dentist
shall be jointly and severally that of each licensed professional
who is an owner, principal, partner, or officer of the firm or entity
identified in the advertisement.
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