Electronic Newsletter

From the Iowa Dental Board

April 2005

 

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Check Out the New & Improved Board Website

The Iowa Dental Board recently updated its website. The website was designed for faster download times and ease of use. The home page provides links to some of the most commonly requested information, and the addition of the sidebar allows users to move quickly from topic to topic. The sidebar links viewers to the following sections: home page, dental assistants, applications and forms, Board rules, complaints, continuing education, IPRC, newsletter, about us, and a link providing directions to the board office. The website was designed to provide information in a few, easy to find locations.

Some of the features of the new website include the following:

— The dental assistant pages are in a central location to provide information required by dental assistants and their employers, including a list of currently registered dental assistants in the state of Iowa, information about testing sites, continuing education, expanded functions training, a list of community college programs, and frequently asked questions. There are also links to applications and expanded functions courses.

—The applications and forms section provides access to all applications and forms available in electronic format. Most of these forms are designed to be printed out and completed by hand, though a number of the forms can be completed and submitted online.

— You can access electronic copies of Board rules, the Code of Iowa, the Board’s rules docket, annual regulatory plan and more in the section titled Board rules.

— You can find copies of electronic newsletters issued by the Board since 2003, by clicking on the newsletter section of the website. Most of these are available in .pdf, but new editions of the newsletter will also be made available in .html.

— Another new feature of the website is a page dedicated to providing information about public disciplinary actions taken by the Board. Here you can find electronic copies of orders issued by the Board in the last 12 months. If you are interested in receiving notification about updates to the public information page and would like access to electronic files of all public orders issued by the Board since 2002, you can subscribe to the Board’s public information service. You can find more information at http://www.dentalboard.iowa.gov/subscription.html.

 

Renewal Information for Dental Assistants

With renewal season approaching, the Iowa Dental Board would like to take this opportunity to remind all dental assistants of continuing education and renewal requirements. Most of the requirements remain unchanged from two years ago. Registered dental assistants are still required to complete twenty hours of continuing education. Of those twenty hours, two hours must focus on the area of infection control, and assistants with a current radiography qualification must have two hours of continuing education in the subject area of dental radiography. However, there is one significant change from the 2003 renewal: jurisprudence is no longer a required component of continuing education.

As before, all dental assistants must provide proof of current certification in CPR at renewal. Board rules only require that a dental assistant complete certification in basic CPR from a nationally recognized sponsor, such as the American Heart Association. Dental assistants are not required to have advanced certification in CPR. In the event you complete CPR recertification shortly before renewal and the sponsor is unable to provide CPR cards at the time training is completed, the Board will also accept a letter from the instructor stating that recertification is complete and current.

On the renewal form, dental assistants must also provide the date that they completed the mandatory training in the identification and reporting of abuse. The Department of Human Services requires all health care professionals to complete mandatory reporter training within six months of practice in Iowa and once every five years thereafter. If you are unsure when you last completed the course, contact the sponsor who provided the training. Sponsors maintain lists of attendees and should be able to provide you with that information. If your practice treats children, you must obtain training in identifying and reporting child abuse. If your practice treats adults, you must obtain training that relates to elder abuse. If your practice treats both children and adults, you must complete both courses, or take a combined course that covers both groups. Please note, the Iowa Dental Board does not sponsor this training.

Board rules require dental assistants to renew their registration to continue working as a dental assistant after June 30. This includes dental assistants who were recently registered; however, dental assistants whose registrations were issued during the current biennium are exempt from the continuing education for their first renewal. Dental assistants who qualify for this exemption would have tested in infection control and jurisprudence between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2005. Registrants who qualify for this exemption still need to supply evidence of current certification in CPR and provide the date they completed the mandatory reporter training. If you are uncertain about a possible exemption, please contact the Board office immediately for further information and clarification.

Dental assistants who completed the requirements for dental radiography qualification during the current biennium are exempt from the two-hour continuing education requirement in dental radio-graphy.

To avoid additional fees for late renewal, the Board recommends planning ahead and making every effort to complete all requirements for renewal as soon as possible. Registrants should not wait until the last minute to complete courses required for renewal. Please refer to the Board website for a list of approved continuing education sponsors. Remember that dental assistants can claim up to three hours of credit for CPR recertification and up to 12 hours of credit for home study courses. Also keep in mind that to be eligible for credit, in general, courses should pertain to clinical practice. Expanded functions training also qualify for continuing education credit.

The Board office will mail renewal applications to all registrants the first week of May. Please allow time for your renewal to arrive in the mail. In the event you have not received your renewal application by May 20, 2005, please contact the Board office. Please do not contact the office for a duplicate renewal application before this date to allow time for postal delivery.

For further information regarding continuing education and renewal requirements, please refer to http://www.dentalboard.iowa.gov/da.html#ConEd and http://www.dentalboard.iowa.gov/con_ed.html.

 

Information Regarding Name & Address Changes

The Board would like to remind you that Board rules require all licensees and registrants to notify the Board of an address change within 60 days. This ensures that you will receive Board materials in a timely manner, which is especially critical during the period leading up to renewal. Failure to notify the Board of an address change can cause substantial delays during renewal. Licensees and registrants who fail to submit a complete renewal to the Board prior to June 30 of a renewal year must pay significant late fees.

The Board strongly recommends that licensees and registrants file changes of address and name prior to the start of renewal season. Renewal season is an incredibly busy time in the Board office; for that reason, there is likely to be a delay forwarding a renewal application to a licensee or registrant who failed to notify the Board of a change of address. The Board will make every effort to see that all licensees and registrants receive a renewal application; however, notifying the Board of address changes prior to renewal season ensures that you will receive your renewal application in a timely manner.

The Board also wants to take this opportunity to address the issue of name changes. The Board does not require licensees and registrants to notify the Board upon the change of a name. You can continue to practice with the name under which you were licensed or registered. However, in the event you prefer to practice under a new name, you must submit a notarized copy of a marriage license, marriage certificate, or divorce decree to the Board office. The document should clearly indicate the new name. Typically, the Board does not return proof of name change.

The Board does not charge a fee for a name change; however, the Board does not automatically mail out new certificates or wallet cards upon a change of name. You should keep in mind that it is appropriate to continue using the wall certificate with the name under which you were originally licensed. If proof of a name change is received prior to renewal, your new name will appear on the wallet card you receive upon renewal of your license or registration. If you wish to order a new card prior to renewal, you should submit a request in writing to the Board office along with the fee of $10 per wallet card requested. Please be sure to state the reason for ordering the duplicate wallet card in your request.

 

 

Public Board Actions

The Iowa Dental Board is mandated to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Iowa. That is why one of the most important aspects of being a Board member is to determine whether or not licensees have violated the dental laws of this state or failed to comply with the minimum standard of practice.

In an effort to give licensees an idea of the types of complaints the Board typically addresses, it has generated this newsletter column. The Board will use this column to give a brief description of several actual cases considered by the Board. The column will attempt to advise and educate licensees on how these situations might be avoided in their own practices.

—A licensee was charged with failure to comply with a previous decision of the Board imposing licensee discipline and violation of rules by failing to maintain records in a manner consistent with the protection of the welfare of the patient. Respondent’s license was placed on probation. The respondent agreed, among other terms, to address the charging and billing concerns and submit evidence that he promptly reimbursed a third party benefit program for any overcharges or incorrect billings identified with the Statement of Charges. The respondent agreed to contract with a dentist to serve as a practice monitor, complete a course in record keeping, remit a civil penalty, complete a course in ethics, and complete the jurisprudence examination.

— A licensee was charged with failure to comply with a previous decision of the Board imposing licensee discipline and violation of rules by failing to practice dentistry with reasonable skill and safety by reason of habitual or excessive use of drugs, narcotics, chemicals or other types of materials. The respondent’s license to practice dentistry in the state of Iowa was revoked.

— A licensee was charged with violating Board rule by administering conscious sedation in a dental facility without a conscious sedation permit and with practice harmful or detrimental to the public by administering conscious sedation to patients in a dental facility not properly equipped. The respondent agreed to, among other terms, to remit a civil penalty, complete the jurisprudence examination, and to not make application for a conscious sedation permit prior to four months from the date of the Order.

— A licensee was charged with violating Board rule by administering local anesthesia for more than two years with a lapsed local anesthesia permit. The respondent agreed to remit a civil penalty.

— A licensee was charged with violating Board rule by engaging in the practice of dental hygiene for more than three years with an expired license. The respondent agreed to remit a civil penalty.

The Board feels that it is very important to inform licensees of these actions. The Board hopes that this information will prevent further misunderstanding about actions taken by the Board and that it will educate licensees and registrants about problems that the Board addresses. If you have any questions or concerns about any of this information, please contact the Board office.