2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 5 - Board of Dental Examiners and College of Dental Surgeons (§§ 81 — 123) › Subchapter I - Board of Dental Examiners (§§ 81 — 95) › § 89 - Requirements for admission

Any person who desires to obtain a license to practice dental surgery in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall meet the following requirements before the Board of Dental Examiners:
(1) To file an application with the information determined by the Board.
(2) To produce identifying documents, and to be of legal age.
(3) To have resided uninterruptedly in Puerto Rico for a period of at least six (6) months, excluding brief trips outside of the country for medical purposes, business not related to the dental profession or pleasure.
(4) To hold a diploma or its equivalent as Bachelor of Science or Predental, from a university recognized by the Higher Education Council and a diploma of Dental Surgery or its equivalent issued by the School of Odontology of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, or by any other university or college, in which case the Board shall accept the applicant’s academic record, if it establishes:
(a) That the admission requirements and the academic program on the basis of which the diploma or its equivalent was issued are analogous to those required for the same purpose by the School of Odontology of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico.
(b) That the applicant at least passed the last two (2) years of the course of studies required to issue said diploma or its equivalent in a university or college which in the Board’s judgment, because of its program of studies as well as the recognition it has in the country where it is located or in other jurisdictions, may be reasonably considered as an educational institution, which is adequate and comparable to the School of Odontology of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, with regard to the teaching of the aforesaid course of studies.
(5) To pass practical and theoretical examinations on basic sciences and clinical disciplines of dental surgery as determined by the Board, to verify the applicant’s capacity.
The Board is hereby authorized to use the theoretical examinations of the National Board of Dental Examiners and any other material that the Board may deem necessary, and besides, to exempt, from the corresponding theoretical examinations, those applicants who hold certificates which accredit their passing the Examinations of the National Board of Dental Examiners of the American Dental Association, provided said examinations were approved within a period of not more than five (5) years prior to the applicant’s revalidation date. This shall not exempt him from complying with the other requirements provided in this section.
(6) To practice as an odontologist for a minimum period of one (1) year, wherever the Secretary of Health determines such professional services shall be of the greatest use in the public sector, through a special authorization issued to such effects by the Board of Dental Examiners and under the supervision of said Board. This authorization shall indicate the town or towns where the applicant shall practice that year, the date of issue and the commencement and expiration dates of the authorization. This authorization shall be issued only after the applicant has passed the examinations referred to in subsection (5) of this section.
The Board shall not recognize the validity of a surgeon’s diploma or its equivalent in those cases in which the applicant has not completed at least the last two (2) years of the official curriculum of the Dental School that issued it.
The applicants that have taken their odontology studies in a school which is not recognized by the Board may be admitted to the revalidation examinations after presenting evidence accrediting the completion of at least the last years of required studies in a School of Odontology accredited for the Puerto Rico Board of Dental Examiners.
The Board shall refer the applicants who do not meet the requirements to revalidate, because they are graduates of schools that are not recognized, to the School of Odontology of the University of Puerto Rico, to determine their possible placement in the existing advanced placement program.
The School of Odontology of the Medical Sciences Campus shall offer the opportunity each year to a number of students who request it and meet the admission requirements established thereby, according to its facilities and resources, to complete two (2) years of studies in an accredited school.
History —Aug. 8, 1925, No. 75, p. 550, § 9; Apr. 20, 1929, No. 31, p. 198, § 5; Apr. 22, 1930, No. 25, p. 252, § 1; May 10, 1950, No. 274, p. 714, § 1; Aug. 18, 1961, No. 1, p. 335, § 1; June 23, 1971, No. 74, p. 216, § 4; June 10, 1972, No. 96, p. 239, § 1; Feb. 1, 1979, No. 4, p. 9; Oct. 9, 1986, No. 11, p. 817, § 11.