Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 593)
The Commissioner of Public Health for the Philippine Islands appoints the Board of Dental Examiners with the advice and consent of the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands.
Members must be three reputable practitioners of dental surgery, graduates in good standing of legally incorporated dental educational institutions recognized by the National Association of Dental Faculties and the National Association of Dental Examiners of the United States of America. Faculty members of dental schools or colleges are ineligible.
Members hold office for three years after their appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified, with the first appointees serving one, two, and three years respectively.
The Board examines candidates desiring to practice dentistry, issues certificates of registration, keeps records and registers, makes necessary rules and regulations, and reports its proceedings and finances annually.
The Board meets in the city of Manila for examinations on the first Tuesdays of January and July each year, after giving at least 30 days' notice to candidates and publishing announcements in English and Spanish newspapers.
Candidates must pass subjects including anatomy, physiology, histology, physics, chemistry, metallurgy, dental anatomy and physiology, dental materia medica, therapeutics, dental pathology and bacteriology, orthodontia, oral surgery, operative dentistry, and prosthetic dentistry.
The fee is ten dollars per certificate, collected by the secretary-treasurer of the Board.
No. Sixty days after the first meeting of the Board, practicing dentistry without a certificate or proper registration affidavit is unlawful, except for certain exemptions such as dentists in the U.S. Army and those lawfully practicing before the law's passage.
Violators may face a fine of up to one hundred dollars or imprisonment for up to ninety days.
Performing any operation on human teeth or jaws, restoring lost teeth or jaws, or treating diseases or malpositions thereof for a fee, salary, or reward. It excludes mechanical construction of dentures by artisans and students practicing under supervision in dental schools.
Practitioners must display their full name conspicuously on their office or house and display their certificate of registration in plain sight of patients. Violations result in fines from twenty-five to one hundred dollars.
Yes. The Board shall refuse to issue or may revoke certificates to persons convicted of criminal offenses, guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or unsound mind, after due notice and hearing, subject to appeal to the Board of Health.
Two members of the Board may issue a temporary certificate when the Board is not in session, valid until the next regular meeting, upon payment of fees and filing an affidavit to appear for examination. Temporary certificates are non-renewable and cannot be issued twice to the same person.
Yes. Dental surgeons of the United States Army on duty in the Philippines, those lawfully practicing dentistry prior to the Act's passage, and certain 'Cirujanos Ministrantes' who studied dentistry for four months and pass examinations may be exempted or registered under specific provisions.
Members except the secretary-treasurer receive $2.50 per candidate examined for dental surgeons, and $2 for each cirujano ministrante examined. The secretary-treasurer receives $150 per year, paid semi-annually.