Florida’s smile gets brighter: Gov. DeSantis signs dental bills

by Lily Fineout

A pair of bills championed by dental and orthodontic groups will become law.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed HB 855 and SB 938. The former establishes new standards for the practice of dentistry and creates new requirements that specifically apply to providers using telehealth while the latter alters requirements for the Board of Dentistry.

HB 855 requires in-person examination and “a dentist of record to remain primarily responsible for all dental treatments for a patient treated through telehealth.”

“So it comes down to accountability and patient safety,” said Eddy J. Sedeño III a Florida orthodontist and member of the American Association of Orthodontists. ”The bill helps patients know who’s actually treating them whenever they have mail order, orthodontics or even mail order, dental care, because that might evolve in the future. And it’s important for a patient’s safety and a patient’s outcome who’s treated you and when you run into issues, to know who you can go to speak to or discuss the situation directly.”

The bill had bipartisan support and was sponsored by Reps. Robin Bartleman, a Democrat from Weston, and Lawrence McClure, a Republican from Dover.

Republican Sen.Jim Boyd sponsored the companion bill.

SB 938, sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, deletes the requirement that out-of-state licensed dentists who apply for and receive a Florida license practice full-time within the state’s geographic boundaries for one year after licensure. It also deletes provisions related to compliance and enforcement of the requirement.

Additionally, Yarborough’s bill strikes out a law requiring dental students wait until their final year of dental school to apply for licensure and updates statutes eliminating language that made clear a dental applicant’s American Dental Examination scores were valid for only one year.

The changes take effect July 1.