Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

150A.05 LICENSED DENTAL PRACTICE.
    Subdivision 1. Practice of dentistry. A person shall be deemed to be practicing dentistry
within the meaning of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12:
(1) who uses a dental degree, or designation, or card, device, directory, sign, or other media
whereby the person represents an ability to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or operate for any disease,
pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, or physical condition of the human tooth, teeth, alveolar
process, gums or jaw, or adjacent or associated structures;
(2) who is a manager, proprietor, operator or conductor of a place where dental operations
are performed;
(3) who performs dental operations of any kind gratuitously, or for a fee, gift, compensation
or reward, paid or to be paid, to any person or agency;
(4) who uses a roentgen or X-ray machine for dental treatment, roentgenograms or for
dental diagnostic purposes;
(5) who extracts a human tooth or teeth, or corrects or attempts to correct malpositions
of the human teeth or jaws;
(6) who offers and undertakes, by any means or method, to diagnose, treat or remove stains
or accretions from human teeth or jaws;
(7) who takes impressions of the human tooth, teeth, or jaws or performs any phase of any
operation incident to the replacement of a part of a tooth, a tooth, teeth or associated tissues by
means of a filling, a crown, a bridge, a denture or other appliance;
(8) who furnishes, supplies, constructs, reproduces, repairs, or offers to furnish, supply,
construct, reproduce or repair prosthetic dentures or plates, bridges or other substitutes for natural
teeth, to the user or prospective user thereof; or
(9) who performs any clinical operation included in the curricula of recognized dental
schools and colleges.
    Subd. 1a. Practice of dental hygienists. A person shall be deemed to be practicing as a
dental hygienist within the meaning of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12:
(1) who provides care that is educational, preventive, and therapeutic through observation,
assessment, evaluation, counseling, and therapeutic services to establish and maintain oral health;
(2) who evaluates patient health status through review of medical and dental histories,
assesses and plans dental hygiene care needs, performs a prophylaxis including complete removal
of calciferous deposits, accretions and stains by scaling, polishing, and performs root planing
and debridement;
(3) who administers local anesthesia and nitrous oxide inhalation analgesia; or
(4) who provides other related services as permitted by the rules of the board.
    Subd. 2. Exemptions and exceptions of certain practices and operations. Sections
150A.01 to 150A.12 do not apply to:
(1) the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in any branch of the armed services of
the United States, the United States Public Health Service, or the United States Veterans
Administration;
(2) the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or dental assisting by undergraduate dental
students, dental hygiene students, and dental assisting students of the University of Minnesota,
schools of dental hygiene, or schools of dental assisting approved by the board, when acting
under the direction and supervision of a licensed dentist or a licensed dental hygienist acting
as an instructor;
(3) the practice of dentistry by licensed dentists of other states or countries while appearing
as clinicians under the auspices of a duly approved dental school or college, or a reputable dental
society, or a reputable dental study club composed of dentists;
(4) the actions of persons while they are taking examinations for licensure or registration
administered or approved by the board pursuant to sections 150A.03, subdivision 1, and 150A.06,
subdivisions 1, 2, and 2a
;
(5) the practice of dentistry by dentists and dental hygienists licensed by other states during
their functioning as examiners responsible for conducting licensure or registration examinations
administered by regional and national testing agencies with whom the board is authorized to
affiliate and participate under section 150A.03, subdivision 1, and the practice of dentistry by
the regional and national testing agencies during their administering examinations pursuant
to section 150A.03, subdivision 1;
(6) the use of X-rays or other diagnostic imaging modalities for making radiographs or other
similar records in a hospital under the supervision of a physician or dentist or by a person who
is credentialed to use diagnostic imaging modalities or X-ray machines for dental treatment,
roentgenograms, or dental diagnostic purposes by a credentialing agency other than the Board
of Dentistry; or
(7) the service, other than service performed directly upon the person of a patient, of
constructing, altering, repairing, or duplicating any denture, partial denture, crown, bridge, splint,
orthodontic, prosthetic, or other dental appliance, when performed according to a written work
order from a licensed dentist in accordance with section 150A.10, subdivision 3.
History: 1969 c 974 s 5; 1981 c 102 s 1; 1983 c 29 s 1; 1983 c 70 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 84
s 3; 1996 c 273 s 1

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes