Our Mission | Overview | Disposing of Unwanted Medications | Opioids - What You Need to Know | Public Board vs Membership Group | Contacting the Board | Teeth Whitening Services | Coronavirus | Testing for COVID-19
The North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners (NDBDE) is a regulatory agency mandated to protect the dental health of the citizens of North Dakota by regulating the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental assisting through the enforcement of laws, rules and policies. The board requires competency and ethical behavior in all areas of the practice of dentistry.
Although the Board adopts rules and may propose laws to regulate the practice of dentistry and the conduct of dental practitioners, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly has the final word when shaping law.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts all of our everyday lives and activities including dental appointments. We all need to work together to prevent the spread of the virus.
In keeping with the Board's mission to protect the dental health and well being of the public, the Board is actively monitoring the Coronavirus pandemic and wants to assure dental patients that the Board is focused on your dental care and treatment delivered in the safest manner possible. Dental offices follow stringent disinfection and cleaning techniques while maintaining a safe work environment for employees. In addition dental offices are receiving information from many sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and the North Dakota Department of Health, for ways to decrease or mitigate risk of infectious diseases to reduce potential exposure. For the latest information on the Coronavirus the Board of Dental Examiners urges consumers to click on this highlighted link for guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Who Should be tested? Not everyone needs to be tested for COVID-19. The CDC offers information that might help in making decisions about seeking care or testing. This page also provides a SELF-CHECK guide to help you make decisions and seek appropriate medical care. CDC has guidance for who should be tested, but decisions about testing are at the discretion of state and local health departments and/or individual clinicians.
To find out what your dental practice does to protect you and when to consider cancelling an appointment visit MouthHealthy.org
Prescription opioids are used mostly to treat moderate to severe pain and are known to be highly addictive. The consequenses of opioid abuse can be devastating. Drug overdose deaths in ND involving opioid pain relievers have increased dramatically since 1999. Concerted state efforts have been made to curb this epidemic. Commonly prescribed opioids include hydrocodone (Vicodin®), oxycodone (OxyContin®, Percocet®) , oxymorphone (Opana®) , morphine (Kadian®, Avinza®), codeine, and fentanyl. If you are prescribed opioid pain relievers please review the patient counseling guide found by clicking on the link below
OPIOIDS - PATIENT COUNSELING GUIDE
Pursuant to the North Dakota Century Code "Practice of dentistry" means examination, diagnosis, treatment, repair, administration of local or general anesthetics, prescriptions, or surgery of or for any disease, disorder, deficiency, deformity, discoloration, condition, lesion, injury, or pain of the human oral cavity, teeth, gingivae, and soft tissues, and the diagnosis, surgical, and adjunctive treatment of the diseases, injuries, and defects of the upper and lower human jaw and associated structures.” [See N.D.C.C. 43-28-01(7) https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t43c28.pdf?20130906111204 ].
The Board (North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners) interprets the law as it pertains to the teeth whitening services to mean treatment or repair of the discoloration of teeth, as the practice of dentistry. The law is not broadly interpreted by the Board, therefore, an individual who purchases products for personal home use (e.g., Crest Whitestrips®) would not be in violation of the North Dakota Century Code. Likewise, the purchase of products such as hair coloring, etc. for personal home use is not prohibited.
Although teeth whitening services are similar to products available for purchase in drug stores or online, the Board, whose role is to protect the public, contends that it is reasonable to require a level of training for teeth whitening, which might include adverse reactions and for which infection control and sterilization procedures are imperative.
The Board of Dental Examiners jurisdiction lies specifically with the regulation of those who hold a dental license, dental hygiene license or dental assisting registration. Therefore a complaint received by the Board against an individual who is not licensed by or regulated by the Board, who provides teeth whitening services to the public (or the unlawful practice of dentistry), is referred to the ND States Attorney’s Office.
The NDBDE is the state entity that regulates the practice of dentistry. To practice dentistry and dental hygiene, a practitioner must be licensed and registered with the Board. Dental assistants providing expanded duties must be registered with the Board. The Board of Dental Examiners represent the public interest.
In contrast, the NDDA, like the American Dental Association, is a member driven organization; membership is optional. The ND Dental Association, the ND Dental Hygienists’ Association and the ND Dental Assistants’ Association represent the members they serve.
The ND Board of Dental Examiners is an entity of State government. The meetings of the ND Board of Dental Examiners are open to the public. The Board is not affiliated with any national or state dental, dental hygiene, or dental assisting membership organization.
When calling the Board Office who should I ask for? When you contact the ND State Board of Dental Examiners, the Board’s administrative assistant may answer general questions or refer you to the appropriate individual. Because the Board staff is limited, you may need to leave a message. Calls are returned in the order in which they are received.
