Sec. 20-114. *(See end of section for amended version of subsection (a) and effective date.) Disciplinary action by Dental Commission concerning dentists and dental hygienists.
Sec. 20-114. *(See end of section for amended version of subsection (a) and
effective date.) Disciplinary action by Dental Commission concerning dentists and
dental hygienists. *(a) The Dental Commission may take any of the actions set forth
in section 19a-17 for any of the following causes: (1) The presentation to the department
of any diploma, license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained, or obtained from
an institution that is not reputable or from an unrecognized or irregular institution or
state board, or obtained by the practice of any fraud or deception; (2) proof that a practitioner has become unfit or incompetent or has been guilty of cruelty, incompetence,
negligence or indecent conduct toward patients; (3) conviction of the violation of any
of the provisions of this chapter by any court of criminal jurisdiction, provided no action
shall be taken under section 19a-17 because of such conviction if any appeal to a higher
court has been filed until the appeal has been determined by the higher court and the
conviction sustained; (4) the employment of any unlicensed person for other than mechanical purposes in the practice of dental medicine or dental surgery subject to the
provisions of section 20-122a; (5) the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter
or of the regulations adopted hereunder or the refusal to comply with any of said provisions or regulations; (6) the aiding or abetting in the practice of dentistry, dental medicine
or dental hygiene of a person not licensed to practice dentistry, dental medicine or dental
hygiene in this state; (7) designating a limited practice, except as provided in section
20-106a; (8) engaging in fraud or material deception in the course of professional activities; (9) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor
skill, including but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, upon the
license holder; (10) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or
chemicals; (11) failure to comply with the continuing education requirements set forth
in section 20-126c; or (12) failure of a holder of a dental anesthesia or conscious sedation
permit to successfully complete an on-site evaluation conducted pursuant to subsection
(c) of section 20-123b. A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any unlicensed employee in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene, with the knowledge of
the employer, shall be deemed a violation by the employer. The Commissioner of Public
Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his or her physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an
investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district
of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of this section, fraud or material
deception shall include, but not be limited to, the following practices: (1) Submission
of a claim form to a third party intentionally reporting incorrect treatment dates for the
purpose of assisting a patient in obtaining benefits under a dental plan, which benefits
would otherwise be disallowed; (2) increasing a fee to a patient for a dental procedure
or dental hygiene service in excess of the fee generally charged by the dentist for such
procedure or service solely because the patient has dental insurance; (3) intentionally
describing a dental procedure incorrectly on a third-party claim form in order to receive
a greater payment or reimbursement or intentionally misrepresenting a dental procedure
not otherwise eligible for payment or reimbursement on such claim form for the purpose
of receiving payment or reimbursement; and (4) intentionally accepting payment from
a third party as payment in full for patient services rendered when (A) the patient has
been excused from payment of any applicable deductible by the license holder, and (B)
such license holder fails to notify the third party of such action.
(1949 Rev., S. 4450; 1951, 1953, S. 2232d; 1957, P.A. 544; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 38; 1963, P.A. 642, S. 25; 1967, P.A.
219; 289; P.A. 75-75, S. 2, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 400, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 43, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 31, 71; P.A. 83-205;
P.A. 84-68; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 92-23, S. 2; 92-35, S. 6; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9,
39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 05-213, S. 9; 05-288, S. 82.)
*Note: On and after January 1, 2010, subsection (a) of this section, as amended by
section 7 of public act 08-109, is to read as follows:
"(a) The Dental Commission may take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17
for any of the following causes: (1) The presentation to the department of any diploma,
license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained, or obtained from an institution
that is not reputable or from an unrecognized or irregular institution or state board, or
obtained by the practice of any fraud or deception; (2) proof that a practitioner has
become unfit or incompetent or has been guilty of cruelty, incompetence, negligence
or indecent conduct toward patients; (3) conviction of the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any court of criminal jurisdiction, provided no action shall be
taken under section 19a-17 because of such conviction if any appeal to a higher court
has been filed until the appeal has been determined by the higher court and the conviction
sustained; (4) the employment of any unlicensed person for other than mechanical purposes in the practice of dental medicine or dental surgery subject to the provisions of
section 20-122a; (5) the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or of the
regulations adopted hereunder or the refusal to comply with any of said provisions or
regulations; (6) the aiding or abetting in the practice of dentistry, dental medicine or
dental hygiene of a person not licensed to practice dentistry, dental medicine or dental
hygiene in this state; (7) designating a limited practice, except as provided in section
20-106a; (8) engaging in fraud or material deception in the course of professional activities; (9) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor
skill, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, upon the
license holder; (10) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or
chemicals; (11) failure to comply with the continuing education requirements set forth
in section 20-126c; (12) failure of a holder of a dental anesthesia or conscious sedation
permit to successfully complete an on-site evaluation conducted pursuant to subsection
(c) of section 20-123b; or (13) failure to provide information to the Department of Public
Health required to complete a health care provider profile, as set forth in section 20-13j. A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter by any unlicensed employee in
the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene, with the knowledge of the employer, shall
be deemed a violation by the employer. The Commissioner of Public Health may order
a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his or her
physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an investigation. Said
commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to
enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17."
(1949 Rev., S. 4450; 1951, 1953, S. 2232d; 1957, P.A. 544; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 38; 1963, P.A. 642, S. 25; 1967, P.A.
219; 289; P.A. 75-75, S. 2, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 400, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 43, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 31, 71; P.A. 83-205;
P.A. 84-68; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 92-23, S. 2; 92-35, S. 6; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9,
39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 05-213, S. 9; 05-288, S. 82; P.A. 08-109, S. 7.)
History: 1959 act updated statute to specify that department of health may be requested to cancel certificate of registration; 1963 act deleted obsolete references to unlicensed assistant dentists and Sec. 20-112; 1967 acts added provision re
violation of regulations of the dental commission to Subdiv. (6) and deleted "for patronage" from description of advertising
in Subdiv. (12); P.A. 75-75 added Subdiv. (16) allowing suspension or revocation of license, etc. on ground of designating
a limited practice; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services and referred in Subdiv.
(6) to regulations adopted under chapter rather than to regulations "of the dental commission", effective January 1, 1979;
P.A. 80-484 extended applicability to disciplinary actions under Sec. 19-4s, substituted "department" for "commission"
in Subdiv. (1), substituted "incompetence" for "unskillfulness" and deleted "gross" referring to negligence in Subdiv. (2),
deleted grounds re conviction of crime involving moral turpitude, re misleading advertising, fee advertising, etc., and re
unprofessional conduct, added grounds re fraud or material deception, re physical or mental illness, emotional disorder,
etc. and re drug abuse, and added provisions requiring submission to physical or mental examination and allowing petitions
to court for enforcement of orders or actions; P.A. 81-471 replaced reference to Sec. 20-111 in Subdiv. (4) with reference
to Sec. 20-122a; P.A. 83-205 added Subsec. (b) to include fraudulent billing practices in the definition of fraud or material
deception; P.A. 84-68 added Subsec. (b)(4) re fraudulent receipt of partial payment as payment in full by a licensed dentist;
P.A. 88-230 replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September
1, 1991; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 92-23 added Subsec. (a)(11) re failure to complete on-site evaluation re anesthesia and sedation; P.A. 92-35 amended Subsecs.
(a) and (b) to include dental hygienists in the provisions of the section; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health
services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the
effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced
Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public
Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 05-213 added Subsec. (a)(11) making failure to comply with continuing education
requirements grounds for disciplining dentists, redesignating existing Subdiv. (11) as Subdiv. (12) and making technical
changes; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 08-109 made a technical change
and added failure to provide information for health care provider profile to list of grounds for disciplinary action in Subsec.
(a), effective January 1, 2010.
Dental assistant found guilty of single operation held to have forfeited license. 109 C. 73. Method used by detective to
obtain evidence not repugnant to sound policy. Id., 76. Cited. 128 C. 118. Cited. 141 C. 288. Cited. 142 C. 44.
Section is not void for vagueness. 4 CA 307.
The dental commission shall find the facts and the court find the law. 8 CS 455. Cited. Id. 459.
Subdiv. (4):
Where plaintiff dentist aided and abetted dental hygienist in practice of dentistry or dental medicine, statute was violated.
149 C. 264.