HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4811

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, December 8, 2025.

The committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 465) of Danillo A. Sena relative to the licensing of limited registration dentists, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4811) ought to pass.

For the committee,

TACKEY CHAN.

        FILED ON: 11/25/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4811

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act relative to the licensing of limited registration dentists.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 45A and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 45A. (a) An applicant for limited registration under this section who is 18 years of age or over and of good moral character who shall furnish the board with satisfactory proof that they have received a diploma from the faculty of a reputable dental college as defined in section 46 and who shall furnish the board with satisfactory proof that they have been employed as a member of the faculty of a dental college accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Dental and Dental Auxiliary Educational Programs of the American Dental Association or that they have been appointed a dental intern in a hospital or other institution maintained by the commonwealth or by a county or municipality thereof, or in a hospital or dental infirmary incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth, may upon payment of a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section 3B of chapter 7 be registered by the board as a limited registrant for one year; provided, however, that practice under any such original or renewal limited registration so issued by the board shall be limited to no longer than 5 years unless said applicant passes a clinical examination administered by the board or is a full time faculty member.             

(b) A limited registration shall entitle an applicant to practice dentistry only in the hospital or other institution designated on their registration and under the direction of a registered dentist therein; provided, however, that a full-time faculty member may participate in, and only in, an intramural group dental practice which is operated, managed and physically located within a nonprofit dental educational or research institution and their affiliated hospitals in which the full time faculty member is employed. Limited registration or special limited registration under this section may be revoked at any time by the board and a holder of such a limited registration shall not practice dentistry in a private dental office or private dental clinic except as provided in subsection (c).

(c) Upon the completion of 5 years of practice under any original or renewal license authorized by subsection (a), an applicant may apply to the board for a special limited registration which shall entitle an applicant to practice dentistry in any private dental practice where MassHealth, as defined in section 9A of chapter 118E, is accepted under the supervision of a registered dentist therein such practice.