2011 Code of Virginia
Title 54.1 PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
Chapter 27 Dentistry (54.1-2700 thru 54.1-2729.01)
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 the members of the dental profession in providing oral health care and oral health education to the public;

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

"Dentist" means a person who has been awarded a degree in and is licensed to 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 and associated structures and their impact on the human body;

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

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

"Oral and maxillofacial surgeon" means a person who has successfully completed an oral and maxillofacial residency program, approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, and who 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.)