§ 90-30. Examination and licensing of applicants; qualifications; causes for refusal to grant license; void licenses.
§ 90‑30. Examination and licensing ofapplicants; qualifications; causes for refusal to grant license; void licenses.
(a) The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners shallgrant licenses to practice dentistry to such applicants who are graduates of areputable dental institution, who, in the opinion of a majority of the Board,shall undergo a satisfactory examination of proficiency in the knowledge andpractice of dentistry, subject, however, to the further provisions of thissection and of the provisions of this Article.
The applicant for a license to practice dentistry shall be of goodmoral character, at least 18 years of age at the time the application is filed.The application for a dental license shall be made to the Board in writing andshall be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicantis a person of good moral character, has an academic education, the standard ofwhich shall be determined by the Board; that the applicant is a graduate of andhas a diploma from a reputable dental college or the dental department of areputable university or college recognized, accredited and approved as such bythe Board; and that the applicant has passed a clinical licensing examination,the standard of which shall be determined by the Board.
The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners is authorized toconduct both written or oral and clinical examinations or to accept the resultsof other Board‑approved regional or national independent third‑partyclinical examinations that shall include procedures performed on human subjectsas part of the assessment of restorative clinical competencies and that aredetermined by the Board to be of such character as to thoroughly test thequalifications of the applicant, and may refuse to grant a license to anyperson who, in its discretion, is found deficient in the examination. The Boardmay refuse to grant a license to any person guilty of cheating, deception orfraud during the examination, or whose examination discloses to the satisfactionof the Board, a deficiency in academic or clinical education. The Board mayemploy such dentists found qualified therefor by the Board, in examiningapplicants for licenses as it deems appropriate.
The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners may refuse to granta license to any person guilty of a crime involving moral turpitude, or grossimmorality, or to any person addicted to the use of alcoholic liquors ornarcotic drugs to such an extent as, in the opinion of the Board, renders theapplicant unfit to practice dentistry.
Any license obtained through fraud or by any false representation shallbe void ab initio and of no effect.
(b) The Department of Justice may provide a criminal recordcheck to the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners for a person whohas applied for a license through the Board. The Board shall provide to theDepartment of Justice, along with the request, the fingerprints of theapplicant, any additional information required by the Department of Justice,and a form signed by the applicant consenting to the check of the criminalrecord and to the use of the fingerprints and other identifying informationrequired by the State or national repositories. The applicant's fingerprintsshall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of theState's criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigationshall forward a set of the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigationfor a national criminal history check. The Board shall keep all informationpursuant to this subsection privileged, in accordance with applicable State lawand federal guidelines, and the information shall be confidential and shall notbe a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.
The Department of Justice may charge each applicant a fee forconducting the checks of criminal history records authorized by thissubsection. (1935, c. 66, s. 7; 1971,c. 755, s. 4; 1981, c. 751, s. 5; 2002‑147, s. 7; 2005‑366, s. 1.)