SB214 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Del Marsh

Republican

Co-Sponsor

Scott Beason

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Dentists and dental hygienists, Dental Practice Act and Alabama Impaired Professionals' Committee substantially revised, Sec. 34-9-9.1 added; Secs. 34-9-1, 34-9-2, 34-9-6, 34-9-7, 34-9-7.1, 34-9-9, 34-9-10, 34-9-11, 34-9-12, 34-9-13, 34-9-14, 34-9-15, 34-9-15.1, 34-9-16, 34-9-17, 34-9-18, 34-9-19, 34-9-19.1, 34-9-20, 34-9-21, 34-9-24, 34-9-25, 34-9-26, 34-9-27, 34-9-29, 34-9-40, 34-9-42, 34-9-43, 34-9-43.1, 34-9-45, 34-9-46, 34-9-47, 34-9-80, 34-38-2, 34-38-3, 34-38-5, 34-38-6, 34-38-7, 34-38-8 am'd.

Summary

SB214 would overhaul Alabama's Dental Practice Act and Impaired Professionals' Committee, authorize dentist-led professional corporations, expand cross-state licensure, and tighten advertising, enforcement, and record-keeping rules.

What This Bill Does

It substantially rewrites the rules for licensing dentists and dental hygienists and for handling impairment cases, and it reorganizes the regulatory makeup of the Board of Dental Examiners. It allows dentists to form professional corporations, associations, LLCs, or nonprofits to provide dental services with new naming, ownership, and filing requirements. It also creates new licensure paths (credentials-based and special cross-state licenses) and expands the framework for practicing across state lines, advertising practices, dental referrals, and disciplinary processes, while strengthening confidentiality and rehabilitation provisions for impairment issues.

Who It Affects

• Licensed dentists and dental hygienists in Alabama (and applicants) who would follow new licensure pathways, annual registration, continuing education requirements, cross-state practice rules, and advertising/records duties.
• Non-dentist entities and organizations involved in dentistry—such as professional corporations/associations/LLCs/nonprofit groups, dental laboratories, and dental referral or managed care entities—as well as the Alabama Impaired Professionals' Committee, which would face new ownership, registration, governance, confidentiality, funding, and enforcement rules.

Key Provisions

• Substantial amendments to Sections 34-9-1 through 34-9-80 and 34-38-2 to 34-38-8 to rewrite the Dental Practice Act and the Alabama Impaired Professionals' Committee.
• New Section 34-9-9.1 authorizes licensed dentists to form professional corporations, professional associations, limited liability companies, or nonprofit organizations for dental practice, with specific name display and governance requirements and restrictions on foreign/other entities.
• Introduction of cross-state practice rules, including defined 'practicing across state lines' and the creation of a special cross-state license pathway, plus provisions for licensees to practice dentistry across state lines under certain conditions.
• Licensure by credentials with detailed criteria (active practice, good standing, background checks, DEA and state verifications, patient records handling, and interviews) and licensure by regional examinations or other approved paths.
• Special purpose cross-state license allowing practice across state lines for three years, with renewal, reciprocal requirements, and automatic revocation if not renewed; emphasis on reciprocity with other states.
• Annual registration and continuing education requirements for dentists (up to 20 hours/year) and dental hygienists (up to 12 hours/year), with renewal deadlines, penalties for failure to renew, and military exemptions.
• Expansion of the Alabama Impaired Professionals' Committee duties, funding, confidentiality protections, evaluation and monitoring of impaired professionals, and rehabilitation-focused options.
• Board governance and discipline provisions including the creation of the Board of Dental Examiners (six dentists and one dental hygienist), election procedures, terms, diversity requirements, and enhanced disciplinary authority with specific grounds and penalties.
• Advertising, specialty disclosures, and dental referral service regulations to prevent false or misleading advertising, require disclosures about participation, and ensure registration and contractual compliance for referral networks.
• Regulations on records, especially patient records and lab prescriptions, including duped prescription records, HIPAA-compliant releases, and controls over copying and maintaining records.
• Enforcement and procedural provisions for injunctions, hearings, subpoenas, depositions, and coordination with other licensing boards, with provisions for expungement of disciplinary records after defined periods.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Dental Examiners of Alabama, Board of