Dentist Licensure Requirements in Utah

The ADA's compilation lists the American Board of Dental Examiners examination (ADEX, administered by CDCA-WREB-CITA), CRDTS and SRTA as Utah's accepted clinical licensure examinations.

An applicant for licensure as a dentist must pass the periodontics, endodontics, operative, class 2 restoration, class 3 restoration, and prosthodontics sections of the exam.

Section 58-69-302(1) requires every dentist applicant to submit an application and fee, hold an earned doctor's degree in dentistry from a school accredited by the ADA's Commission on Dental Accreditation, pass the National Board Dental Examinations administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations, pass a division-approved regional clinical licensure examination, pass any additional examination on law, rules or ethics the division establishes, demonstrate English proficiency to the board's satisfaction if requested, and meet with the board if requested.

Rule R156-69-302b names the accepted regional clinical exams: the WREB, CDCA, SRTA, CRDTS, and CITA examinations, each with a passing score as established by that testing agency, covering the periodontics, endodontics, operative, class 2 restoration, class 3 restoration and prosthodontics sections.

An applicant qualifying under the endorsement provision of Section 58-1-302 must hold a current, unrestricted license in good standing in another qualifying jurisdiction, meet all of Utah's Subsection (1) requirements except the dental-degree documentation, and document at least 6,000 hours of clinical practice as a dentist in the five years immediately preceding the application.

Section 58-69-306 also exempts certain out-of-state dentists from licensure: a dentist licensed in good standing elsewhere with no pending discipline and at least two years of experience may render uncompensated public-service care in Utah, and a dentist appointed to a faculty position at an accredited dental school may practice within that employment under specified degree, immigration-status and supervision conditions.

Section 58-69-502 makes it unprofessional conduct for a dentist to advertise or hold out as practicing an ADA-recognized specialty, or to use titles such as "Endodontist," "Orthodontist," "Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon," "Specialist," "Board Certified," "Diplomat," "Pediatric Dentist," "Periodontist" or "Limited to Specialty of," without having completed the ADA-defined education for that specialty; a dentist who discloses that services are provided by a general dentist is exempt.

Rule R156-69-102(32) defines a "specialty area" as one in which the dentist completed an accredited post-doctoral specialty program of at least two full-time years.

Rule R156-69-502 sets out a longer list of unprofessional conduct covering sedation monitoring and record-keeping, specialty-advertising disclaimers, misleading advertising, prescribing outside the scope of dentistry, self-prescribing Schedule II or III controlled substances, license display, CPR/BCLS/ACLS/PALS certification, billing and record practices, and reporting requirements for anesthesia- or sedation-related adverse events.

Licenses are issued on a two-year renewal cycle, which the division may extend or shorten by up to one year to stagger renewal dates, and licensees must show CE compliance at renewal.

Rule R156-69-304a requires at least 30 hours of qualified continuing professional education per two-year period, to include set portions of those hours for sedation permit holders (2 hours for a minimal sedation permit, 4 didactic hours plus 10 attested sedation cases for a moderate sedation permit, and 8 didactic hours plus 30 attested cases for a deep sedation permit); required CPR-BLS, ACLS or PALS recertification hours do not count toward the 30-hour total.

CE hours are prorated for licensees not licensed the full period, and the rule caps recognized hours at 10 for teaching, 15 for online or home-study courses, and 3 for practice- and office-management topics.

A licensee may satisfy up to 15% of the requirement through direct patient care volunteer service, earning one CE hour per four documented volunteer hours, and must keep CE documentation for two years after the renewal cycle ends.