2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 37 — Professions and occupations
RS 37:775 — Unprofessional conduct defined

§775. Unprofessional conduct defined

A. As used in this Chapter, "unprofessional conduct" means:

(1) Advertisement of fees for or of free dental services without:

(a) Fully disclosing all procedures to be included by the dentist in the advertised service, including but not limited to necessary diagnosis, radiographs, restorative treatment, laboratory fees, and post-operative care.

(b) Fully disclosing that procedures which are customarily included in the service are not included in the service offered for the advertised fee, if such is the case.

(c) Disclosing within the advertisement the name of the advertising dentist. If one member of an association/partnership advertises, the names of all partners and dentist employees must also appear therein. This is not to include the appearance of the names of those persons merely sharing space with the advertising dentist, but does include all dentists providing dental services to those responding to the advertisement.

(2) Not including in advertisements the name which appears on the license or renewal certificate of the dentist or which is authorized under Chapter 11 of Title 12 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, relative to professional dental corporations or the use in advertisements of any name other than that which appears on the license or renewal certificate of the dentist or which is authorized under Chapter 11 of Title 12 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, relative to professional dental corporations.

(3) Any communication about the dentist or the dentist's services which is false, misleading, or deceptive; or the omission of material information from any statement or claim about the dentist or the dentist's services.

(4)(a) Any communication for which the dentist does not have substantiation in hand at the time the claim is made.

(b) The failure to provide said substantiation or records of the content and dissemination of an advertisement to the board upon request.

(c) The failure to keep records of any communication or written statements and claims, including advertising copy, and substantiation for same for a period of two years from the date on which the particular statement or claim is made.

(5) Any communication which is likely to create an unjustified expectation about results the dentist can achieve, or which states or implies that the dentist can achieve results by means that violate this Chapter, the rules and regulations of the board, or other law.

(6) The practice of dentistry or the giving of a public demonstration of skill or methods of practicing dentistry in any place other than a clean, sanitary, and safe facility.

(7) Directly or indirectly offering, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive any fee or other consideration to or from a third party for the referral of a patient in connection with the performance of a dental service.

(8) Advertising of denture prices which fails to include the following information:

(a) Whether or not the dentures are preformed or prefabricated.

(b) In the case of "immediate dentures", details of required adjustments and other necessary procedures, including charges to be made therefor.

(c) Fees for each different grade of denture which the advertiser may offer to persons who respond to the advertisement.

(d) The number of appliances included.

(e) The fact that the advertised price does not include upper and lower dentures, if such is the case. This disclosure must be made in type twice as large as any other type in a print advertisement or repeated three times in an audio advertisement at a decibel level no lower than the loudest level in the advertisement.

(9) Advertising of dental services in any medium which has not been approved by the licensed dentist and which does not contain the dentist's full name, address, and telephone number.

(10) The use of the name of any deceased, disabled, or retired and licensed dentist or hygienist on any office door, directory, stationery, billhead, or any other means of communication any time after one year following the retirement from practice of said dentist or dental hygienist, or twenty-four months following the death or disability of said dentist.

(11)(a) The employment or engaging of the services of any person, firm, or corporation to construct, repair, furnish, supply, or reproduce a prosthetic appliance or any denture, orthodontic appliance, bridge, or other substitute for natural teeth without the dentist furnishing a written work order on a form approved by the board which shall contain:

(i) The name and address of the person, firm, or corporation to which the work order is directed.

(ii) The patient's name or identification number, and if number is used, the patient's name must be written upon duplicate copy retained by the dentist.

(iii) The date on which the work order was written.

(iv) A description of the work to be done, including diagrams if necessary.

(v) Specification of the type and quality of materials to be used.

(vi) The signature of the dentist and number of his license.

(b) The failure of the dentist to retain the original copy of such work orders so furnished for a period of two calendar years in addition to the current year.

(12) The use, in connection with the practice of dentistry, of any practice which is prohibited by law.

B. Notwithstanding any provision of this Section, when it is required by this Section that an advertisement include the name of the advertising dentist as it appears on the license or renewal certificate of the dentist or the specialties of all dentists practicing within or under the name of a corporation, company, association, limited liability company, or trade name be disclosed in the advertisement, such requirement shall be deemed to be sufficiently satisfied if the names and specialties of all dentists practicing in, with or under the said corporation, company, association, limited liability company, or trade name are made available on an Internet website fully disclosed in the advertisement, or are provided without delay to any individual requesting such information by contacting the advertiser at a telephone number also disclosed in the advertisement. Whether the advertisement is run by the corporation, company, association, limited liability company, or trade name, or any individual member practicing therein, all dentists practicing in, with or under the corporation, company, association, limited liability company, or trade name shall be responsible for the content of the advertisement.

Amended by Acts 1962, No. 17, §6; Acts 1977, No. 325, §2; Acts 1987, No. 733, §1; Acts 1995, No. 920, §1; Acts 2001, No. 199, §1, eff. May 31, 2001; Acts 2010, No. 111, §1, eff. June 8, 2010.