Terms Used In Florida Statutes 466.0275

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Dentist: means a person licensed to practice dentistry pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 466.003
  • Dentistry: means the healing art which is concerned with the examination, diagnosis, treatment planning, and care of conditions within the human oral cavity and its adjacent tissues and structures. See Florida Statutes 466.003
  • Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 466.003
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
Every dentist who accepts a license to practice dentistry in this state shall, by so accepting the license or by making and filing a renewal of licensure to practice in this state, be deemed to have given consent, during a lawful investigation of a complaint to the following:

(1) To render a handwriting sample to an agent of the department and, further, to have waived any objections to its use as evidence against her or him.
(2) Only in those circumstances where there is probable cause that the dentist is guilty of violations involving moral turpitude, impairment, violations of laws governing controlled substances, or any violation of criminal law, the dentist shall be deemed to waive the confidentiality and to execute a release of medical reports pertaining to the mental or physical condition of the dentist herself or himself. The department shall issue an order, based on the need for additional information, to produce such medical reports for the time period relevant to the investigation. As used in this section, “medical reports” means a compilation of medical treatment of the dentist herself or himself which includes symptoms, diagnosis, treatment prescribed, relevant history, and progress. The dentist shall also be deemed to waive any objection to the admissibility of the reports as constituting privileged communications. Such material maintained by the department shall remain confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) until probable cause is found and an administrative complaint issued.