PA Dental Jurisprudence study plan

Map the structure of the Dental Practice Act (Act 76 of 1933) by outlining its articles/sections and identifying where each of the four exam domains is sourced.

Explain the Board's statutory authority: composition, appointment, powers, and rulemaking procedure under the Act.

Define key statutory terms (practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, dental assisting, supervision levels) and list the procedures each license type may perform.

Locate the Board regulations (25 Pa. Code Chapter 33) that implement the Act and cross-reference at least 10 regulations to their enabling Act sections.

Differentiate licensure, registration, and certification pathways for dentists, dental hygienists, and expanded-function auxiliaries under the Act and Board regulations.

Summarize initial application requirements: education, examinations (e.g., NBDHE, ADEX/CDCA), jurisprudence exam, and criminal background checks.

Outline renewal, biennial registration, continuing education (including child abuse recognition and reporting), and lapsed-license reinstatement procedures.

Identify grounds for licensure denial and the appeal process available to applicants.

Trace how the Act and Board regulations interact on supervision and delegation of dental procedures to hygienists and assistants.

Analyze at least five Board regulations that impose specific practice obligations (e.g., recordkeeping, infection control, radiograph certification).

Apply statutory definitions to borderline scenarios (e.g., teledentistry, whitening, oral piercing) and justify whether they constitute practice of dentistry.

Draft a flowchart showing the licensure-to-renewal lifecycle with statutory and regulatory citations at each step.

Enumerate the statutory and regulatory definitions of unprofessional conduct and map each to a concrete practice example.

Explain the standard of care in Pennsylvania dental practice and how it is established (expert testimony, Board regulations, professional norms).

Describe mandatory reporting duties (e.g., child abuse, impaired colleagues, adverse events) and the consequences of failure to report.

Identify recordkeeping, informed consent, and infection-control requirements that form the basis of most standard-of-care violations.

Outline the disciplinary process from complaint intake through investigation, consent agreement, hearing, and Board order.

Compare the range of sanctions available to the Board (reprimand, suspension, revocation, civil penalty, CE orders) and the statutory criteria for each.

Analyze the distinction between unlicensed practice and practice outside the scope of a license, including criminal and civil exposure.

Summarize due-process rights of licensees during investigations and hearings, including subpoena power and confidentiality rules.

Detail civil penalty provisions: maximum amounts, per-violation versus per-day accrual, and procedures for assessment and appeal.

Explain the Board's authority to seek injunctions and cease-and-desist orders against unlicensed practice and the role of the Attorney General.

Identify collateral consequences of discipline (e.g., NPDB reporting, insurance, hospital privileges, licensure in other states).

Evaluate case scenarios to predict likely sanctions and justify the prediction using statutory factors and prior Board decisions.

Complete a full-length timed practice exam (100+ mixed questions) under exam conditions and log every missed question by domain.

Re-read the Act and Board regulations sections tied to the three weakest domains and rewrite those rules in plain language.

Build a one-page 'numbers and deadlines' cheat sheet (renewal cycles, CE hours, civil penalty caps, reporting timelines).

Review the disciplinary process and unprofessional conduct matrices and correct any errors found during practice.

Re-test on the two lowest-scoring domains using 50 new questions and achieve at least 80%.

Recite from memory the top 20 unprofessional conduct violations and the top 10 disciplinary sanctions with their statutory bases.

Walk through two timed scenario questions on unlicensed practice and civil penalties, writing full justifications under 3 minutes each.

Finalize a one-page exam-day reference sheet (permitted items, timing, question strategy) and confirm test-day logistics.