Court Opinion

ID: 9697166
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 19:07:42.666584+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:29.720956
License: Public Domain

Bronson, J.
(concurring). I concur in the result reached by my colleagues. I write separately to emphasize two points.
First, our decision should not be read as indicating that physicians can never violate the dental practice act. See, e.g., People v Blair, 192 Mich 183; 158 NW 889 (1916). Cases could arise in which a licensed physician violates that act by performing procedures which are restricted to licensed dentists. I would not attempt to delineate which procedures a licensed physician who is not a licensed dentist can legally perform, however. I would specifically limit our holding to the facts of the case before us and leave further distinctions to judicial ánd legislative development. This problem does seem to be particularly suited to legislative resolution.
Second, I would read the specific exemption in *345the dental practice act for temporary emergency care rendered by a physician, MCLA 338.213(1); MSA 14.629(13)(1), as applicable only where the procedure may not legally be performed by a physician who is not a licensed dentist. This reading avoids the negative implication that physicians performing nonemergency procedures necessarily violate the dental practice act if the procedure could also be performed by a dentist.