2006 Code of Virginia § 54.1-2700 - Definitions

54.1-2700. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Board" means the Board of Dentistry;

"Dental hygiene" means cleaning and polishing teeth and assisting themembers of the dental profession in providing oral health care and oralhealth education to the public;

"Dental hygienist" means a person trained in the practice of and practicingdental hygiene;

"Dentist" means a person who has been awarded a degree in and is licensedto practice dentistry;

"Dentistry" means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment,through surgical, nonsurgical or related procedures, of diseases, disorders,and conditions of the oral cavity and the maxillofacial, adjacent andassociated structures and their impact on the human body;

"License" means the document issued to an applicant upon completion ofrequirements for admission to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in thisCommonwealth or upon registration for renewal of license to continue thepractice of dentistry or dental hygiene in this Commonwealth;

"Maxillofacial" means pertaining to the jaws and face, particularly withreference to specialized surgery of this region.

"Oral and maxillofacial surgeon" means a person who has successfullycompleted an oral and maxillofacial residency program, approved by theCommission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, andwho holds a valid license from the Board.

(1950, p. 983, 54-200.1; 1970, c. 639; 1972, c. 805; 1988, c. 765; 2001, c.662.)