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Texas Register Preamble


The State Board of Dental Examiners (Board) adopts amendment to §108.8, concerning records of the dentist. The rule is adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the June 27, 2014, issue of the Texas Register (39 TexReg 4885).

The amendment of §108.8 provides consistency within the rule language concerning the minimum standard of care.

The Board received one written comment from the Texas Medical Association (TMA) concerning claiming that it would be improper for a dentist to perform a "medical exam" and that changing the rule language to "physical evaluation" may cause confusion as to the proper scope of the dentist's practice. TMA states that the practice of dentistry does not include general physical evaluations of the human body and recommends deletion of this change. The Board's position is that limited physical evaluations have been a requirement of 22 TAC §108.7 for over thirteen years. Currently, §108.7(2) states that dentists shall perform limited physical evaluations for all dental patients and that the examination shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, measurement of blood pressure and pulse/heart rate. Pursuant to §108.7(3), a dentist shall obtain and review an updated medical history and limited physical evaluation when a reasonable or prudent dentist under the same or similar circumstances would determine it is indicated. Section 108.8 concerning records of the dentist did not provide for documentation of the limited physical examination and instead required documentation of "written review of medical history and limited review of medical exam." The Board proposed this amendment to §108.8 in order to provide consistency between §108.7 and §108.8 and require documentation of the limited physical evaluation.

The amendment of §108.8 is adopted under Texas Occupations Code §254.001(a). The Board interprets §254.001(a) to give the Board authority to adopt rules necessary to perform its duties and ensure compliance with state law relating to the practice of dentistry to protect the public health and safety.

No other statutes, articles, or codes are affected by the rule.



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