(a) No person shall engage in the practice of dentistry unless he or she is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The practice of dentistry or dental medicine is defined as the diagnosis, evaluation, prevention or treatment by surgical or other means, of an injury, deformity, disease or condition of the oral cavity or its contents, or the jaws or the associated structures of the jaws. The practice of dentistry does not include: (1) The treatment of dermatologic diseases or disorders of the skin or face; (2) the performance of microvascular free tissue transfer; (3) the treatment of diseases or disorders of the eye; (4) ocular procedures; (5) the performance of cosmetic surgery or other cosmetic procedures other than those related to the oral cavity, its contents, or the jaws; or (6) nasal or sinus surgery, other than that related to the oral cavity, its contents or the jaws.

(b) No person other than a person licensed to practice dentistry under this chapter shall:

(1) Describe himself or herself by the word “Dentist” or letters “D.D.S.” or “D.M.D.”, or in other words, letters or title in connection with his or her name which in any way represents such person as engaged in the practice of dentistry;

(2) Own or carry on a dental practice or business;

(3) Replace lost teeth by artificial ones, or attempt to diagnose or correct malpositioned teeth;

(4) Directly or indirectly, by any means or method, furnish, supply, construct, reproduce or repair any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or any other structure to be worn in a person’s mouth, except upon the written direction of a licensed dentist, or place such appliance or structure in a person’s mouth or attempt to adjust such appliance or structure in a person’s mouth, or deliver such appliance or structure to any person other than the dentist upon whose direction the work was performed;

(5) Sell or distribute materials, except to a licensed dentist, dental laboratory or dental supply house, with instructions for an individual to construct, repair, reproduce or duplicate any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or any other structure to be worn in a person’s mouth;

(6) Advertise to the public, by any method, to furnish, supply, construct, reproduce or repair any prosthetic denture, bridge, appliance or other structure to be worn in a person’s mouth;

(7) Give estimates of the cost of dental treatment; or

(8) Advertise or permit it to be advertised by sign, card, circular, handbill or newspaper, or otherwise indicate that such person, by contract with others or by himself or herself, will perform any of the functions specified in subdivisions (1) to (7), inclusive, of this subsection.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a person who is licensed to practice dentistry under this chapter, who has successfully completed a postdoctoral training program that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation or its successor organization, in the specialty area of dentistry in which such person practices may: (1) Diagnose, evaluate, prevent or treat by surgical or other means, injuries, deformities, diseases or conditions of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial area, or its adjacent or associated structures; and (2) perform any of the following procedures, provided the dentist has been granted hospital privileges to perform such procedures: (A) Surgical treatment of sleep apnea involving the jaws; (B) salivary gland surgery; (C) the harvesting of donor tissue; (D) frontal and orbital surgery and nasoethmoidal procedures to the extent that such surgery or procedures are associated with trauma.

(d) Any person who, in practicing dentistry or dental medicine, as defined in this section, employs or permits any other person except a licensed dentist to so practice dentistry or dental medicine shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 20-126.

(e) The provisions of this section do not apply to:

(1) Any practicing physician or surgeon who is licensed in accordance with chapter 370;

(2) Any regularly enrolled student in a dental school approved as provided in this chapter or a medical school approved as provided in chapter 370 receiving practical training in dentistry under the supervision of a licensed dentist or physician in a dental or medical school in this state or in any hospital, infirmary, clinic or dispensary affiliated with such school;

(3) A person who holds the degree of doctor of dental medicine or doctor of dental surgery or its equivalent and who has been issued a permit in accordance with § 20-126b and who is receiving practical training under the supervision of a licensed dentist or physician in an advanced dental education program conducted by a dental or medical school in this state or by a hospital operated by the federal government or licensed pursuant to subsection (a) of § 19a-491;

(4) Any regularly enrolled student in or graduate of an accredited school of dental hygiene who is receiving practical training in dental hygiene in an approved school of dental hygiene in the state or in any hospital, infirmary, clinic or dispensary affiliated with such school, under the supervision of a dentist licensed pursuant to this chapter or a dental hygienist licensed pursuant to chapter 379a; or

(5) Controlled investigations or innovative training programs related to the delivery of dental health services within accredited dental schools or schools of dental hygiene, provided such programs are (A) under the supervision of a dentist licensed pursuant to this chapter or physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370, and (B) conducted within a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation or such other national professional accrediting body as may be recognized by the United States Department of Education.