Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2462)
The Board of Dental Examiners consists of three reputable dentists legally practicing in the Philippines, graduates of recognized dental colleges. Members hold office for three years and until successors are appointed. The first appointees have staggered terms ending in 1915, 1916, and 1917 respectively.
The Director of Health, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior of the Philippine Islands, appoints the members of the Board of Dental Examiners.
Members of the Board may be removed for neglect of duty, incompetency, unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, or other just causes, by the Director of Health with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
The Board organizes itself by electing a president and secretary-treasurer, conducts examinations twice a year, issues certificates of registration, keeps official records, enforces uniform teaching standards in dental schools, and submits annual reports.
Candidates must have a diploma as Doctor of Dental Medicine or Doctor of Dental Surgery from an institution duly accredited and legally constituted, except bona fide students of the University of Santo Tomas graduating in March 1915 or 1916.
Practicing dentistry includes performing operations upon human teeth or jaws for a fee or reward, treating dental diseases or lesions, and correcting malpositions of teeth. This excludes artisans making dentures, students practicing under supervision, U.S. Army or Navy dental surgeons on duty, and physicians practicing under separate laws.
Fees include 20 pesos for admission to examination, 30 pesos for each new or temporary certificate of registration, and 2 pesos for each renewal of a certificate.
Refusal or revocation occurs for criminal conviction involving moral turpitude, immoral or dishonorable conduct, unsound mind, unprofessional conduct, malpractice, incompetency, negligence, fraud or deceit in obtaining certificates, habitual intoxication, employing unauthorized persons, and false advertising.
Yes, two Board members can issue temporary certificates valid until the next regular exam if the Board is not in session and won't meet within 30 days. These certificates cannot be renewed or extended.
Violators face criminal prosecution and, upon conviction, may be fined up to 1,000 pesos, imprisoned for up to one year, or both, at the court's discretion.
Every practitioner must conspicuously display their name and surname, and their certificate of registration in plain sight of patients in the dental chair. The owner/proprietor of dental offices must also display the names and certificates of all practitioners there.
No person can use titles such as Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Dental Medicine, or append letters like B.D.S., D.D.S., M.D.S., L.D.S., or D.M.D. without a duly conferred diploma or certificate of registration.