A. Licensed dentists may employ or engage the services of any person, firm, or corporation to construct or repair an appliance, extraorally, in accordance with a written or digital work order. Any appliance constructed or repaired by a person, firm, or corporation pursuant to this section shall be evaluated and reviewed by the licensed dentist who submitted the written or digital work order, or a licensed dentist in the same dental practice. A person, firm, or corporation so employed or engaged shall not be considered to be practicing dentistry. No such person, firm, or corporation shall perform any direct dental service for a patient, but they may assist a dentist in the selection of shades for the matching of prosthetic devices when the dentist sends the patient to them with a written or digital work order.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2719

  • Appliance: means a permanent or removable device used in a plan of dental care, including crowns, fillings, bridges, braces, dentures, orthodontic aligners, and sleep apnea devices. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
  • Board: means the Board of Dentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Dentist: means a person who has been awarded a degree in and is licensed by the Board to practice dentistry. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
  • Dentistry: means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, through surgical, nonsurgical, or related procedures, of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity and the maxillofacial, adjacent, and associated structures and their impact on the human body. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
  • Digital work order: means the digital equivalent of a written dental laboratory work order used in the construction or repair of an appliance. See Virginia Code 54.1-2700
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230

B. Any licensed dentist who employs the services of any person, firm, or corporation not working in a dental office under the dentist’s direct supervision to construct or repair an appliance extraorally shall furnish such person, firm, or corporation with a written or digital work order on forms prescribed by the Board, which shall, at minimum, contain (i) the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation; (ii) the patient’s name or initials or an identification number; (iii) the date the work order was written; (iv) a description of the work to be done, including diagrams, if necessary; (v) specification of the type and quality of materials to be used; and (vi) the signature and address of the dentist.

The person, firm, or corporation shall retain the original written work order or an electronic copy of a digital work order, and the dentist shall retain a duplicate of the written work order or an electronic copy of a digital work order, for three years.

C. If the person, firm, or corporation receives a written or digital work order from a licensed dentist, a written disclosure and subwork order shall be furnished to the dentist on forms prescribed by the Board, which shall, at minimum, contain (i) the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation and subcontractor; (ii) a number identifying the subwork order with the original work order; (iii) the date any subwork order was written; (iv) a description of the work to be done and the work to be done by the subcontractor, including diagrams or digital files, if necessary; (v) a specification of the type and quality of materials to be used; and (vi) the signature of the person issuing the disclosure and subwork order.

The subcontractor shall retain the subwork order, and the issuer shall retain a duplicate of the subwork order, which shall be attached to the work order received from the licensed dentist, for three years.

D. No person, firm, or corporation engaged in the construction or repair of appliances shall refuse to allow the Board or its agents to inspect the files of work orders or subwork orders during ordinary business hours.

1962, c. 45, § 54-147.2; 1972, c. 805; 1988, c. 765; 2020, cc. 37, 220.