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Florida Board of Dentistry Report
Submitted by Casey Stoutamire, Florida Dental Association, Chief Legal Officer
cstoutamire@floridadental.org
The Florida Board of Dentistry (BOD) met in Jacksonville, Friday, May 9, 2025.
BOD members present included: Dr. Nick White, chair; Dr. Claudio Miro, vice chair; Drs. Brad Cherry, Tom McCawley and Jose Mellado; hygiene members, Ms. Karyn Hill and Ms. Angela Johnson; and consumer member, Mr. Ben Mirza. There are two open dental positions and one open consumer position on the board.
The board reviewed many licensure applications. Several applications were submitted under the MOBILE endorsement. As a reminder, legislation was passed during the 2024 legislative session that created this licensure pathway. To qualify for licensure, a dentist must:
• Must hold an active, unencumbered license issued by another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States in a profession with a similar scope of practice, determined by the board or the department, as applicable.
• Must have obtained a passing score on a national licensure examination or hold a national certification recognized by the board.
• The BOD defines this type of examination as either the ADEX exam or a regional board examination, such as the NERB. A state-specific examination does not meet this requirement.
• Must have actively practiced the profession for at least three years during the four-year period immediately preceding the date of submission of this application.
• Must not have ever been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, unless the applicant successfully appealed to have the report removed.
• Must not be the subject of a disciplinary proceeding in a jurisdiction in which he or she holds a license or by the United States Department of Defense for reason related to the practice of the profession for which the applicant is applying.
• Must not have had disciplinary action taken in the five years immediately preceding the date of submission of the application.
• Must meet the financial responsibility requirements of s. 456.048, Florida Statutes, or the applicable practice act, if required for the profession for which you are applying.
• This requirement is for malpractice insurance.
Before reviewing the MOBILE applications, Dr. White informed those in attendance that the board would have to deny the applications because it cannot waive a statutory requirement (those items listed above). He suggested the applicants withdraw their applications so that the board did not have to deny them. If an application is denied, it is reported to the National Practitioner Database. All the applicants withdrew their applications. There was a discussion about what information applicants received from board staff about this situation. Board staff have no authority to deny an application. If an applicant refuses to withdraw when staff first notify them, the application must then come before the board. Staff communicates the situation and explains that the board cannot waive a statutory requirement; yet, applicants still come before the board thinking they can plead their case and obtain a different outcome. Board staff said it will continue to work on the verbiage they send to applicants to prevent this situation in the future.
The board approved a proposed change to rule 64B5-12.0175(2), Standards for Approved Providers. This rule defines the requirements under which continuing professional education providers authorized by the Board must comply. The rule will now read:
(2) Instructors shall be adequately qualified by training, experience, knowledge and or licensure to teach specified courses. Because domestic violence courses must contain information specifically appropriate for, directly pertinent to, and useful in, dentistry, all domestic violence instructors shall be familiar with dental injuries indicative of domestic violence, reporting obligations under Florida and federal law, and incidence statistics in the dental profession. Instructors who have had a professional license revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against, in Florida or in another jurisdiction, shall be disqualified when the nature and number of disciplinary actions indicate a conscious disregard for the laws, rules and ethics of the profession.
During a previous meeting, the board approved the proposed language, which moves local anesthesia administered by a hygienist to indirect supervision. However, the board attorney notified the board that it cannot propose this rule because Florida statutes require local anesthesia by a hygienist be performed under direct supervision. A rule cannot supersede what is required in the statute. Thus, the previous rule will not move forward.
There were four disciplinary cases, two determinations of waivers, and one voluntary relinquishment that included, among other things, incorrect implant placement, failure to use a rubber dam during an endodontic procedure, root canal perforation and failure to report action taken against a license in North Carolina. It is much better to be a spectator than a participant in BOD disciplinary cases.
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