FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 
Notice
The positions outlined on this page are informal policy statements of the Board of Dental Examiners that have not been developed through the formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process. These statements are non-binding policy advisories and are subject to change at any time and without notice.
In the near future, the Board intends to formalize its policies on the matters addressed on this page through the formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process, as prescribed in the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act, and will be deleting the content of this page accordingly.
Please refer to the Legislative tab for the most current information about proposed changes to the Dental Practice Act and the Board’s administrative codes.
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Advertising
The Board is no longer reviewing individual advertisements. To ensure that your advertisement complies with the Alabama Dental Practice Act, please review Rule 270-X-4.08.
Board Statement on Alabama Dental Practice Act
The Dental Practice Act, Ala. Code (1975), § 34-9-6(7), was amended by the Alabama Legislature in 2011 in Act 2011-571 to specify that “making . . . digital images” constitutes the practice of dentistry. In 2017, the Board amended the Rule that governs permissible procedures for dental auxiliaries, Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-3-.10, to allow them to “make . . . digital images,” thereby implementing the statute; and then began enforcing the statute to ensure that dental auxiliaries making digital images did so under direct supervision.
Continuing Education
Beginning October 1, 2022, licensees will be required to obtain his/her continuing education hours per Alabama Administrative Code r. 270-X-4 .04.
Dental Assisting - White Paper
Information regarding oversight of Dental Assisting in the State of Alabama.
Firearms Policy
Firearms & Dangerous Weapons Policy
BDEAL-Board Opinion (Lead Aprons/thyroid collars)
On February 1, 2024, the American Dental Association published a new literature review, and updated its recommendations, relating to ionizing radiation exposure in dentistry. See Benavides, et al., Optimizing radiation safety in dentistry: Clinical recommendations and regulatory considerations, Journal of the American Dental Association (February 1, 2024). The new guidance is notable for its new recommendation that lead aprons and thyroid collars are no longer recommended in routine dental practice.
The regulations of the State Department of Public Health require the use of “procedures and engineering controls based upon sound radiation protection principles to achieve occupational doses and public doses that are as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA).” Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-26-.03(5). Those rules also do not necessarily require the use of lead aprons or thyroid collars in routine dental imaging.
The Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama does not have any generally applicable rule that requires licensees to use lead aprons and/or thyroid collars in connection with routine intraoral radiography.
Patients, particularly those accustomed to using lead aprons over an extended period of time, may request that dental practitioners provide them with a lead apron during dental imaging. This is a matter of sound clinical judgment in each particular case.
The Board recommends that all dental practitioners review the updated ADA guidance, available at https://jada.ada.org/article/S0002-8177(23)00734-1/fulltext, and to incorporate the updated recommendations into their clinical judgment and decision-making processes.
Name and Address Changes
For an address and/or phone number changes please submit your changes in writing (mail, email, or fax) and include your name and license number. Indicate which address should be your public/mailing address for Board correspondence.
For any name changes please submit a copy of the legal document that changed your name along with your current listed name and license number (e.g. marriage certificate or page of divorce decree that indicates returning to former name, or court order). If you would like a new wall certificate reflecting your change of name, please include a check in the amount of $25.00 with your change of name request and a new wall certificate will be mailed to you.
Retain Patient Records
The Alabama Dental Practice Act does not address the length of time you must maintain patient records, however, retention of lab prescriptions is found in Code of Alabama (1975), § 34-9-21 wherein it states the length of retention for lab prescriptions is 2 years. Considering forensic value and need for defending a patient complaint, also please check the malpractice insurance carrier and/or ADA for more guidance with this issue.
