Question & AnswerQ&A (PRC BOARD OF DENTISTRY BOARD Resolution NO. 16, S. OF 2008)
A Preceptorship Program refers to a training program in any of the six specialties in dentistry and integration of knowledge and skills in a particular discipline which should be university-based or hospital-based, run by specialists who have undergone extensive training or obtained a degree in an accredited dental university.
The six specialties are endodontics, pedodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and orthodontics.
Because the instructors/teachers in these programs are often incompetent due to inadequate formal academic training and merely rely on informal local or international training, leading them to improperly represent themselves as experts or specialists.
They may mislead the public and trainees to believe that dentists have acquired specialized skills without having a proper examination or competence, which is detrimental to the dental profession and potentially dangerous to public safety.
The Board may revoke or suspend their Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card for unprofessional, immoral, dishonorable, and unethical conduct, subject to approval by the Professional Regulation Commission.
Instructors must have at least two years of academic and clinical training in the specialty from a recognized institution, hold a valid certificate of registration and Professional Identification Card, and be a bonafide member of the Philippine Dental Association or other accredited national dental organizations.
It must be hospital-based or school-based where a dentistry course is offered.
The Center must have a valid and updated certificate of registration, permit, or license to operate as approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), or by the Department of Health (DOH) in the case of oral surgery specialties.
They must be accredited by the Board of Dentistry subject to the approval of the Professional Regulation Commission.
Section 6(d), Article II of Republic Act No. 9484 (the Philippine Dental Act of 2007) empowers the Board to adopt or recommend measures necessary for the advancement of the profession and enforcement of the Act.