IA Dental Juris flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Scope of Practice

The set of procedures and activities a licensee may legally perform, defined by state statute and board rule rather than by individual training or employer preference.

Direct Supervision

A delegation level in which the dentist is physically present in the office, evaluates the patient before the procedure, and remains available during and after it.

General Supervision

A delegation level in which the dentist has authorized the procedure but is not required to be present on site while the auxiliary performs it.

Unlicensed Practice

Performing acts reserved to licensed dentists without a valid license, including practicing after expiration, suspension, or revocation, and often a criminal offense.

Licensure by Credentials

A pathway to licensure that accepts an active license in good standing from another jurisdiction plus a defined period of practice, in lieu of re-examination.

Continuing Education Requirement

A mandated number of CE hours per renewal cycle, often including required topic minimums such as infection control, ethics, or controlled substance prescribing.

Inactive License Status

A non-practicing license category that permits retention of the license but bars patient care until reactivation requirements such as CE are satisfied.

Lapsed License

A license that has expired and not been renewed by the deadline, so that practice during the lapse constitutes unlicensed practice regardless of pending renewal.

Moral Turpitude Conviction

A statutory disciplinary ground based on conviction of a crime involving dishonesty or depravity, sometimes applicable regardless of connection to dental practice.

Summary Suspension

An emergency action suspending a license before a full hearing when continued practice poses an imminent risk to public health and safety.

Revocation

The termination of a license by board order; reinstatement is discretionary and typically requires a waiting period and a formal petition.

Probation Order

A sanction permitting continued practice under conditions such as chart audits, monitoring, practice restrictions, and required remedial education.

Standard of Care

The degree of skill and care that a reasonably prudent dentist in the same or similar community would exercise under comparable circumstances.

Patient Abandonment

Unilateral termination of the dentist-patient relationship without reasonable notice, an opportunity to transfer care, or access to records.

Impaired Practice

Practicing while affected by alcohol, drugs, or a physical or mental condition that impairs the ability to deliver competent dental care.

Record Falsification

Altering, backdating, or fabricating entries in a patient record, which is both an independent violation and evidence of deceptive intent.

Standard Precautions

Infection control applied to all patients regardless of presumed infectious status, using barriers and hand hygiene based on exposure risk, not diagnosis.

Critical Instrument

An item that penetrates soft tissue or contacts bone or blood, such as a scaler or surgical bur, and must be sterilized before reuse.

Semicritical Instrument

An item that contacts mucous membranes but does not penetrate tissue, requiring at minimum high-level disinfection or sterilization between patients.

Biological Monitoring

Spore-based testing of a sterilizer at a defined frequency to verify that the sterilization cycle actually achieved microbial kill.

Record Retention Period

The statutorily required minimum time a patient record must be kept, often measured from last treatment and extended for minors past majority.

Informed Consent Elements

Disclosure of diagnosis, proposed treatment, material risks, alternatives including no treatment, and likely consequences, obtained voluntarily from a competent patient.

Record Ownership

The practice generally owns the physical record, while the patient holds a statutory right to inspect and obtain a copy.

Addendum Correction

A dated, authenticated supplemental entry used to correct an error in a patient record, since erasing or obliterating original entries is prohibited.

DEA Registration

A federal registration number required to prescribe or dispense controlled substances, held separately from and in addition to the state dental license.

Schedule II Drug

A controlled substance with high abuse potential and accepted medical use, subject to the tightest prescribing controls and generally no refills.

PDMP Query

A check of the state prescription drug monitoring database, commonly mandated before prescribing opioids beyond a set duration or quantity.

Prescribing to Self

Writing a controlled substance prescription for oneself, family, or staff outside a documented dentist-patient relationship, generally prohibited.

Administrative Hearing

A formal proceeding before a hearing officer or administrative law judge where the licensee may present evidence, cross-examine, and be represented by counsel.

Preponderance of Evidence

The burden of proof typically applied in board disciplinary proceedings, meaning it is more likely than not that the violation occurred.

Exhaustion of Remedies

The requirement that a licensee complete the board's administrative appeal process before seeking review in a court.

Substantial Evidence Review

The appellate standard under which a court upholds board factual findings supported by more than a mere scintilla of relevant evidence.