NY Educ L § 6604-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 8 - The Professions Article 133 - Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, and Registered Dental Assisting 6604-A - Mandatory Continuing Education for Dentists.

§  6604-a.  Mandatory  continuing  education for dentists. 1. (a) Each dentist,  licensed  pursuant  to  this  article,  required  to  register triennially  with  the department to practice in this state shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing education  requirements, except  as  set  forth  in  paragraphs  (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Dentists  who  do  not  satisfy  the  mandatory   continuing   education requirements  shall  not  practice until they have met such requirements and  have  been  issued  a  registration  or  conditional   registration certificate.  (b)  Dentists  shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period during which they  are first   licensed.  In  accordance  with  the  intent  of  this  section, adjustments to the mandatory continuing  education  requirement  may  be granted  by  the  department  for  reasons  of  health,  certified  by a physician, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the  United States,  or  for other good cause acceptable to the department which may prevent compliance.  (c) A licensed dentist not engaged in public practice as an individual practitioner,  a  partner  of  a  partnership,  a   shareholder   of   a professional service corporation, or an employee of such practice units, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring such status. Any licensee  who  returns  to  the  public practice of dentistry during the triennial registration period  shall  notify  the  department  prior  to reentering  the  profession  and  shall  meet  such mandatory continuing education requirements as shall  be  prescribed  by  regulation  of  the commissioner.   2.   During  each  triennial  registration  period  an  applicant  for registration shall complete a  minimum  of  sixty  hours  of  acceptable formal continuing education, a maximum of eighteen hours of which may be self-instructional  coursework  as approved by the department. Beginning with the first registration renewal period for any dentist occurring  on or  after  January first, two thousand two, and before the occurrence of the second registration renewal period following that  date,  a  dentist shall  have completed on a one-time basis, as part of the sixty hours of acceptable formal continuing education  required  by  this  section,  no fewer  than  two hours of coursework and training regarding the chemical and related effects and usage of tobacco and tobacco  products  and  the recognition,  diagnosis,  and  treatment  of  the  oral  health effects, including but not limited to  cancers  and  other  diseases,  caused  by tobacco  and  tobacco  products,  provided that any dentist who provides written proof satisfactory  to  the  department  that  the  dentist  has completed, at any time subsequent to the effective date of this section, an  approved  mandatory continuing education course of not less than two hours in the same or  substantially  similar  subject  matter  shall  be deemed  to have met this requirement, and further provided that dentists who are exempt from the mandatory continuing education  requirement  for the  triennial  registration period during which they are first licensed shall also be exempt from this requirement for that period. Any  dentist whose  first  registration  date  following  the  effective date of this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but on or after January first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight  and  before  July first,  two thousand eight, shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and one-quarter hours per month  for the  period beginning January first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven up to the first registration date  thereafter.  For  any  registration  period beginning  before  July first, two thousand eight and ending on or after such date, each dentist shall complete continuing education hours  on  a  pro  rata basis at a rate of one and one-quarter hours per month for the period ending June thirtieth, two thousand eight and at a  rate  of  one and  two-thirds hours per month for the period beginning July first, two thousand  eight up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory  continuing  education  requirements shall  not  be  issued  a  triennial  registration  certificate  by  the department and  shall  not  practice  unless  and  until  a  conditional registration  certificate  is issued as provided in subdivision three of this section. The individual licensee shall determine the  selection  of courses  or  programs  of  study  pursuant  to  subdivision four of this section.   3.  The  department,  in  its  discretion,  may  issue  a  conditional registration  to  a  licensee who fails to meet the continuing education requirements established in subdivision two  of  this  section  but  who agrees  to  make  up  any deficiencies and take any additional education which the department  may  require.  The  fee  for  such  a  conditional registration  shall  be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the triennial registration. The duration of  such  conditional  registration shall  be  determined by the department. Any licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence,  satisfactory to  the  department,  of completion of required continuing education and who practices dentistry without such registration,  may  be  subject  to disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.   4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal  continuing  education" shall  mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional practice and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations  of  the commissioner. To fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement, programs  must  be  taken  from  sponsors  having at least one full-time employee and the  facilities,  equipment,  and  financial  and  physical resources  to  provide  continuing  education  courses,  approved by the department, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.   5. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars, shall  be  payable  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  each  triennial registration  period,  and  shall  be  paid in addition to the triennial registration fee required by section six thousand six  hundred  four  of this article.   6.  On  or  after the effective date of this subdivision, and no later than the end of the first registration period  commencing  on  or  after such  date  during  which  he  or  she  is  required  to comply with the continuing education requirements of this section,  each  dentist  shall have  completed  on  a one-time basis, as part of the mandatory hours of acceptable formal continuing education  required  by  this  section,  no fewer  than three hours in a course approved by the department in dental jurisprudence  and  ethics,  which  shall  include  the   laws,   rules, regulations and ethical principles relating to the practice of dentistry in  New  York state, provided that postgraduate dental students enrolled in New York state dental residency programs may satisfy the requirements of this subdivision by taking such an approved course during the  period of their dental residency prior to their initial licensure.