OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honamrbla 33. Carl Raldsr, %erataey 

Texas Sate Board cf Lbrntal &wminmm 

rztxcm Bul.ldi~ 

Corpue Cheuristi, PccixaB 

Bear Sim 

.tt?f.n,l; the salI Cl?, !3trQuss 'to 8Q ~rsctlco 

Dental iiu.urp3y an3 Smtiatrg in ang Cwnty 

in tha Stnta of Texna 3.1% whioh th1.e license 

ia recorded.t 

ë* + l Dr. 5trauos eecurad has lfcenae 

as ebooc eat out In 1929 nnd he5 never MIcorded hla license in any county i.n the 
Honorable B. Carl Holder, Becretery, Page 2 

State ai Texas, for upon securing said licenae Dr. 3trauss a%?turned to MlchLgan where 

he has practiced dentistry ainca, 

*e + l * 

Of 

"I am, hOVeVBr, faced vith the difficulty 

detarmlnlng vhether or not the liaense granted to Dr. Strauss in 1929 is still valid in 

view of the fact that wune v&s never recorded 

In the office of the clerk of any county in 

Texas. Is such recordatlon requ:red where a 

dentist has never actually practiced in the 

State of Texas, under the wording of the 1919 

and the 1935 lavs that such license shall bo 

P 

resented to the aountg clerk for recordatlon 

before beglnnlng the practice of dentlotry in 

any plsce in thts Stste?t" 

The Constitution of the State of Texea proVid08 that 

"the Legislature may pass laws presarlb%ng q~llficatlons of 

practltloners of medLcine in this State, and to punieh persona 

for malpracttce l l *." Pursuant to its inherent powera and 

the authorities expresely or implledlg conferred, the Legislliture has enacted Ucense regulations relating to medicine, 

dentistry, optomabry, and other slmllar prafesslons. In 

order to more efflclentlg aafaguard the llvea and veJ.l. being 

of its citizens the Legislature haa not only set up standards 

and regulrements for preparation and practice, but has eetabliahed Boarda of Fxaminera composed of professional men to 

adminieter the lwva in ragsrd to the practice of a particular 

profeas-Lon. 

Article 4546, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, aa 

amended, whtch vith the exception of mI.nor changes in language 

is the 8tune as Section 9 of' House Bill Ho. 1, Acts of the 36th 

Legislature, read8 ae followsr 

"Every peraon to whom a 1Lcense ZB isfm?d 

by the State Board of Dantal ExamLmra nhall, 

before begfnnlng the practice of dentLstry at 

any piece In this State, yre8er.t the shame to 

th8 County Clerk of the county In nNch he 

resides and offers to practice, and to the 

County Clerk of each and every other county 

In vhlch hemay practice or offer to practice1 
,. . 

Honorable B. Carl Holder, Page 3 

staid County Clerk shall record aaid license 

in a book provided for the.mrgose, and receive fifty (50$?) cents therefor, Absence 

of the record of such license in any place 

vhere such license is hereby required to 

be recoztied shall be prima facie evidence 

in any court op this State of the vant of 

poeeesbion of such license. Acts 1919, 

2 

g),Aota 1935, 44th Leg,, p. SOS, ch. 249; 

l 

The apparent intent of the Legislature in requirw 

this recordatlon of license Is not primarily to protect the 

dentLst or to preserve a record of the lfcense, but to protect 

the publ.ic and to give to the citizena of thZs State a convenient and acceptable means of determining the status of the 

practicing dentist in their county. The last sentence in thls 

Article bears out thls Lnterprotnt1on vhen it states that 

absence of such reccrd ia prhm facie evidence of want of poscession of ouch license. We would point out Ln this regard 

if it is only grim8 fncSe evidence thus subject to contrary 

proof there must be other means by vhkh a dentist could eatabllsh and prove his license. In this connection ve should nlso 

analyze Article 4547, Revised Civil Statutoa of Texas, vuch 

reads aa follovst 

111l ) l * No person shall be required to 

surrender an old license for a nev one unless 

he 80 dosiree. If 43-1~ licenne .issued under 

thle or any former law in Texeo ehall be lost 

or destroyed, the holder of said lfcenoe my 

present h?s ap?Zfcatl.on to the board for a 

duplicate llcenee together vith hLs affiaavLt 

of such loss or destruction and that he is 

the sane person to whom said license we iasued., and shal.1 be pranted a license under 

this lav. If the records of said board fail 

to shov that such person k’a ever licensed, 

the board may exsrclse its discret:on in 

granting said duplicate license." 

Re-dlng these tvo artlclc? tpEether we arrive at the 

conclualon that the Piles of the Board of Centnl Fxnniners are 

in reality the true and guiding records. Since the Dental licenslq statutes do not set up a tine 1lm:t or require a reexamination, a llcense once gmperly secured and issued would 

exlat during the l:.fe of the gractlt.;oner unless he vi.oleted 
, 

L . -, 

Honorable B. Carl Holder, Page 8 

nome law in regard to the praatlce of dentlstq Q: the law 

itself vae changed. 

Under the fhota an you state thorn, it was not necessary for Dr. Ytrauss to record his lioense a8 he did not 

practice in Texas ami If that liceose accord1r.g to the redotis of yaw Board vae 

at111 in good, Etandirq. 

out that if Dr. Stmuss 

Texas, he ehculd compPy 

in the proper county. 

properly aecwed. and issued, It is 

We feel hovover that ve should point 

ia going to practice dentistry in 

with the lev and record hI:a license 

Your8 very truly 

FBfrR3