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Choose a dentist

In Florida, dentists work under Chapter 466 of the Florida Statutes, titled "Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, and Dental Laboratories," and under the Board of Dentistry's rules. Those rules cover how a dentist may advertise, what records a dentist keeps, and what a dentist owes patients under continuing care. Knowing them gives you a short, concrete checklist.

Education, not a dental practice. Florida Smile Works does not examine, diagnose, or treat.

Short answer

Check the license yourself. The Florida Board of Dentistry's site offers "Verify a License," and the state's MQA search home offers "License Verification," "Practitioner Profile," and "Discipline & Admin Actions." A Florida dentist's ad, including a website, must identify the Florida licensed dentist who takes responsibility for it.

What a Florida reader should know

Licensing. The Board's site calls itself "the State of Florida’s Online Resource for Dentists, Dental Hygienists, and Dental Laboratories Licensing, Renewals and Information." Under rule 64B5-2.013, each applicant for a Florida dental license must complete the examinations in section 466.006, and the written exam covers "the laws and rules of the State of Florida regulating the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene."

Advertising. Section 466.019 covers advertising by dentists. It defines an advertisement as a representation used "to solicit patients, including, but not limited to, business cards, circulars, pamphlets, newspapers, websites, and social media." It says: "An advertisement by a licensed dentist may not contain any false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement or claim." An ad with fee information needs a disclaimer that the fee is a minimum fee only.

Rule 64B5-4.002 adds: "All advertising in any media must identify the Florida licensed dentist, who assumes total responsibility for the advertisement." To identify means using the dentist's license number, or the dentist's commonly used name together with the current full name, address, and telephone number the licensee has on file with the Department.

Records. Under rule 64B5-17.002, "A dentist shall maintain the written dental record of a patient for a period of at least four (4) years." Records must be legible and detailed enough "to clearly demonstrate why the course of treatment was undertaken."

Copies of records. Rule 64B5-17.009 says: "The furnishing of copies shall not be conditioned upon payment of an unpaid or disputed fee for services rendered." It also says that, absent circumstances beyond the licensee's control, "timely shall mean less than 30 days."

Emergency coverage. Rule 64B5-17.004 says every dentist practicing in Florida is responsible for providing, personally, through another licensed dentist, or through a reciprocal agreement with another agency, "reasonable twenty-four (24) hour emergency services for all patients under his continuing care."

Malpractice coverage. Rule 64B5-17.011: "As a prerequisite for licensure or license renewal every dentist is required to maintain medical malpractice insurance or provide proof of financial responsibility as set forth herein."

What to do next

  1. Go to the Florida Board of Dentistry site and use "Verify a License" on the dentist you're considering.
  2. Or open the MQA search home and run "License Verification," "Practitioner Profile," or "Discipline & Admin Actions" yourself.
  3. Look at the dentist's ad or website and find the license number, or the dentist's name with the name, address, and phone the licensee has on file.
  4. Read section 466.019 and the Board's practice rules in chapter 64B5-17.
  5. Ask the dentist the questions below.

Questions worth asking a licensed dentist

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