F, AA~~~~~~ GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN. Txzxas 78711 

April 25, 1974 

The Honorable Carl C. Hardin, Jr: 

Executive Secretary 

Opinion No. H- 283 

Texas State Board of Dental Examiners Re: Construction of Senate 

Capital National Bank Building Bill 222, 63rd Legislature, 

Austin, Texas 78701 Regular Session, 1973 

Dear Mr. Hardin: 

You have requested our opinion as to the effect of certain amendments to the Dental Practice Act made by the 63rd Legislature and now 

codified as Articles 4551d(l) and 4551f(6), V. T. C.S. In your request you 

advise that Texas dentists commonly patronize dental laboratories and 

dental technicians situated outside the state. Prescriptions for dental 

restorations needed by these dentists’ patients are sent to out-of-state 

laboratories for fabrication by the dental techhicians employed.there. 

Most of the dental work done by these foreign laboratories is returned 

through the mails. You ask whether the amendments to the Dental Practice Act made by the 63rd Legislature now prohibit out-of-state dental 

laboratories and dental technicians from filling a prescription for dental 

work submitted by a Texas dentist for one of his patients. 

Article 4551d(l) empowers the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners 

to adopt rules and regulations pertaining to dental laboratories and dental 

technicians. Article 45511(6)(a) requires dental laboratories and dental technicians to register with the Board as follows: 

“(6)(a) It shall be the duty of the owner, owners, 

and manager of each dental laboratory in this State to 

annually apply to and register each dental laboratory in 

this State with which he has any connection or interest 

with the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners on or 

before March 1 of each calendar year and to pay in conp. 1320 
The Honorable Carl C. Hardin, Jr., page 2 (H-283) 

nection with such application a fee of not less than 

$25 nor more than $200 as determined by the Board 

according to the needs of the Board to the Dental 

Registration Fund, and such application shall set 

forth such facts as the Board may require. It shall 

also be the duty of each dental laboratory technician 

registered pursuant to this Act and as provided by 

the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners in its rules 

and regulations to annually apply to and to register 

with the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners on or 

before March 1 of each calendar year, and to pay in 

connection with such application a fee of not less than 

$10 nor more than $25 as determined by the Board 

according to the needs of said Board to the Dental 

Registration Fund, and such application shall set forth 

such facts as the Board may require; further, a list of 

all other employees of a dental laboratory who are not 

required to register hereunder shall be furnished quarterly to the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners and 

to the Dental Laboratory Advisory Board as provided in 

the rules of the Board. ” 

Subsection (c) of Article 455lf(6) provides: 

“(c) From and after the effective date of this Act, 

it shall be unlawful for anyone other than a dental laboratory or’ dental technician duly registered hereunder, to 

fill any prescription for a dental prosthetic appliance or 

the repair thereof, to be delivered by a licensed dentist 

in this State to a dental patient. ” 

An interpretation of Subsection (c) that prohibited out-of-state dental 

laboratories or technicians from filling prescriptions for Texas dentists 

would clearly be suspect as imposing an undue burden on interstate commerce. 

We need not reach that question because we interpret that subsection to provide no more than that, before any laboratory or technician - regardless of 

where it or he is located - can fill a prescription submitted by a Texas dentist 

p. 1321 
The Honorable Carl C. Hardin, Jr., page 3 (H-283) 

for one of his patients, it must first be duly registered in accordance with 

the provisions of Article 4551f(6) (a). While Article 4551f(6) (a) requires all 

Texas dental laboratories and technicians to register with the Board, it 

does not preclude out-of-state laboratories or technicians from also registering under its provisions if they wish to service Texas dentists, Thus 

under Article 455lf(6) of the Dental Practice Act an out-of-state dental 

laboratory or technician is not precluded from filling prescriptions for 

Texas dentists so long as it or he has registered in accordance with the 

provisions of subsection(a). 

We incidentally note that is has long been settled that the Legislature 

may regulate the practice of dentistry and related skills in this manner 

under its police powers. Semler v. Dental Examiners, 294 U.S. 608(1935) 

and Carp v. Texas State Board of Examiners in Optometry, 401 S. W. 2d 

639 (Tex. Civ. App., Dallas, 1966), rev’d on other grounds, 412 S. W. 2d 307 

(Tex. 1967). In our opinion any burden imposed upon interstate commerce 

by our interpretation of Article 455lf(6) is neither undue nor clearly excessive in relation to the local health benefits to be derived from these provisions. See Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit, 362 U.S. 440 

(1960) and Dixie Dairy Company v. City of Chicago, 355 F. Supp. 1351 (N. D. 

Ill. 1973). 

SUMMARY 

Article 4551f(6) (c), V. T. C. S. , does not prohibit 

out-of-state dental laboratories or technicians from 

filling prescriptions for Texas dentists so long as they 

have registered with the Texas State Board of Dental 

Examiners in accordance with the provisions of Article 

455lf’(6) (a). 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

pn 1322 
The Honorable Carl C. Hardin, Jr., page 4 W-284) 

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 1323