1.3 The Board of Dental Examiners, Its Committees, OPLC & Rulemaking

The Board of Dental Examiners, Its Committees & OPLC

Board composition — RSA 317-A:2 and Den 102.01

The public member may never have been a member of the dental profession or the spouse of one. He or she also may not have had a material financial interest in providing dental services or a directly related activity, including representing the Board or the profession for a fee, during the 5 years before appointment (RSA 317-A:2, II).

Eligibility (RSA 317-A:3): every member must have been a New Hampshire resident for at least 5 years before appointment. The hygienist members must have practiced dental hygiene in New Hampshire for at least 5 years. No more than one member may be a full-time faculty member of a school of dentistry or dental hygiene.

Duties, officers, and meetings — RSA 317-A:4, Den 102–103

• The Board establishes criteria for examining, registering, and licensing dentists and hygienists.
• It elects a president and a vice-president from its members (Den 101.27 and 101.35 define these officers).
• A quorum is a majority of the members approved by the governor and council. Action requires the affirmative vote of a majority of members present and eligible to vote. A member who recuses for a conflict of interest may not vote.
• The Board must meet at least once a year and otherwise as needed.
• OPLC keeps the record of the Board's official acts under its retention policy (RSA 317-A:4, II) and is the custodian of Board records (Den 103.02). Records are public except disciplinary proceeding records.
• Den 103.01 requires minutes of every meeting and official action. They must show who voted and separately record dissents, abstentions, and concurrences, and they are open for inspection within 5 business days of the meeting or vote. Copies are requested under OPLC rule Plc 103 (Den 103.03).

The two standing committees

Den 102.01(g) establishes two standing committees. Neither can regulate or discipline on its own.

RSA 317-A:2-a, IV adds that the hygiene committee section does not change the scope of dental hygiene or authorize independent hygiene practice.

OPLC's role

OPLC is the umbrella licensing agency under RSA 310. Under RSA 317-A:7 and 317-A:8, applications are filed with OPLC and licenses come from OPLC. OPLC also collects fees, sends renewal notices at least 2 months before expiration (RSA 310:8, IV), and contracts with Prov, Inc. for the jurisprudence exam. The Board supplies the professional criteria: qualifications, scopes, rules, and discipline.

Rulemaking authority — RSA 317-A:12

The Board adopts rules under the Administrative Procedure Act, RSA 541-A, on topics that include:

• applicant qualifications beyond the statute, and how applicants are examined, including subjects, passing grade, and disposition of papers (paragraphs III–IV);
• ethical standards and license revocation for violating them (VI);
• continuing education (XI) and administrative fines (XII);
• general anesthesia, deep and moderate sedation permits, facilities, and pediatric safeguards (XII-a);
• procedures a dentist may assign to hygienists, public health hygienists, assistants, and unlicensed persons (XII-b);
• minimal sedation, including pediatric minimal sedation permits (XII-c);
• coronal polishing by qualified assistants, which may never authorize a complete oral prophylaxis (XII-d);
• expanded function dental auxiliaries (XII-e);
• prescribing controlled drugs under RSA 318-B:41 (XIII).

RSA 317-A:12-a also requires rules making completion of a health professions workforce survey, or an opt-out form, part of renewal (see section 2.4).

Procedure and waivers — Den 201

Den 201.01 says OPLC's Plc 200 rules govern adjudicatory proceedings, rulemaking submissions, public comment hearings, declaratory rulings, policy statements, explanations of adopted rules, and voluntary surrender of licenses.

Den 201.02 sets the waiver process:

1. The Board may waive a substantive rule on its own motion after notice and an opportunity to be heard, if waiver is necessary to advance the purpose of the rules.
2. A written request must state the rule, how long the waiver is needed, the reason, evidence of how health and safety will be protected, a time-limited written compliance plan with an estimated compliance date, and the requester's signature.
3. The Board weighs undue hardship, whether the need arose from the practitioner's own neglect or misfeasance, and whether enforcing or waiving the rule would injure a third person.
4. The Board may approve only if the waiver does not waive or modify any provision of RSA 317-A, good cause exists, and the compliance plan leads to eventual compliance.
5. If more information is needed, the Board notifies the requester within 30 days. It must issue a written decision within 60 days of receiving the request, or of receiving the requested information.

Key Den 101 definitions to tab