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) › § 92a - Specialist licenses

The Board shall decide from time to time, according to the advances of the science of odontology and according to the experiences of professional development in and outside of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, those areas of odontology which shall be recognized as propitious and adequate fields for the development of other specialties. To such effects the Board shall define the specialties, the academic requirements and clinical experience that every dentist must complete to be recognized as a specialist, and the conditions to practice the specialty.
It shall likewise establish and maintain an up-to-date register of all dentists who are specialists in odontology, licensed to practice any of the specialties recognized by it in Puerto Rico.
The Board shall establish the prerequisites for training and clinical experience required to administer intravenous or intramuscular drugs for sedation or general anesthesia in connection with a dental treatment procedure.
Dentists thus qualifying shall obtain a special permit to use such procedures from the Board.
The Board is hereby empowered to issue certificates of specialties in the field of dental public health, dental surgery, orthodontics, pediatric odontology, periodontics, prosthodontics, and endodontics to every dentist who holds a license pursuant to the provisions of §§ 81—94u of this title, is a member of the Puerto Rico College of Dental Surgeons and meets the requirements provided in this section.
(1) Dental public health. — For the purposes of this section, the specialty in dental public health is the science and art of preventing and controlling dental disease and promoting dental health through organized community efforts, which is understood as a relationship with the population of a particular region, which serves the community and not the individual as a patient, whose objective is the public’s dental health education, investigation in the field of odontology, and the application of the findings and achievements of such investigation, as well as the administration of group dental care programs, prevention, and the control of community dental diseases.
Dentists who wish to obtain a certificate as specialist in dental public health shall have approved a minimum of one (1) year of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each, besides meeting the other requirements provided in §§ 81—94u of this title.
(2) Oral pathology. — The specialty in oral pathology is the branch of odontology which includes in morphological as well as clinical study of the diseases that affect the region of the mouth and which qualifies the oral pathologist, through special studies and training, to diagnose and study local and systemic tumors and lesions of the oral region.
Dentists who wish to practice as specialists in oral pathology shall have approved a minimum of two (2) graduate or postgraduate years of fulltime academic studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each, besides meeting the other requirements in §§ 81—94u of this title.
(3) Oral surgery. — Oral surgery is the dental specialty which includes the diagnosis and attendant surgical treatment of diseases, lesions and defects of the human mandibles and their associated structures.
Dentists who wish to obtain a certificate which accredits them as a specialist in oral surgery shall have approved a minimum of three (3) years of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each, besides meeting the other requirements of §§ 81—94u of this title.
(4) Orthodontics. — The specialty of orthodontics is the field of odontology which includes the prevention and correction of dental and oral anomalies; the repositioning of teeth and their relationship with the jaw through the use of prostheses and the correction of casual habits, or corrective muscular exercise, with the purpose of establishing the normal function of the chewing mechanism and encouraging the normal development of the jaws and associated structures.
Dentists who wish to practice as specialists in orthodontics shall have approved a minimum of two (2) years of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each, besides meeting the other requirements in §§ 81—94u of this title.
(5) Pediatric orthodontics. — The specialty of pediatric orthodontics is the field of orthodontics which includes the prevention, control and treatment of oral and dental disease in children.
Dentists who wish to obtain a certificate to practice as specialists in pediatric orthodontics shall have approved a minimum of two (2) years of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each.
(6) Periodontics. — The specialized field of periodontics is the area of odontology involving prevention, control and treatment of the support tissues of the teeth.
Every dentist wishing to become certified to practice in the special area of periodontics, in addition to fulfilling all the other requirements of §§ 81—94u of this title, shall have approved a minimum of two (2) years of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each.
(7) Prosthodontics. — The specialty of prosthodontics is the field of odontology which includes the partial or complete restoration of the chewing functions through the design and construction of dental prosthetic devices, known as artificial dentures, which are supported fully or partially on the soft tissue of the mouth and are not permanently attached to the natural teeth.
Dentists who wish to practice as specialists in prosthodontics shall have approved a minimum of two (2) years of fulltime graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) months each, besides meeting the other requirements of §§ 81—94u of this title.
(8) Endodontics. — The specialty of endodontics is the field of odontology which includes the etiology, histopathology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the diseases of the dental pulp and its sequel.
Dentists wishing to practice as specialists in endodontics shall have approved a minimum of two (2) years of graduate or postgraduate studies of at least eight (8) calendar months each.
History —Aug. 8, 1925, No. 75, p. 550, added as § 12A on Oct. 9, 1986, No. 11, p. 817, § 14.