LAC 46:XXXIII.1709. Examination of Dentists

A. An applicant shall be entitled to take the examinations required in this Section to practice dentistry in this state if such applicant: 1. is 18 years of age or older; 2. is of good moral character; 3. is a graduate of a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency, if any, or any other nationally-recognized accrediting agency; and 4. has successfully completed the National Board of Dental Examiners dental examination. B. To be licensed as a dentist in this state, an applicant for initial licensure must successfully complete the following: 1. a written examination on the jurisprudence and ethics of the state regulating the practice of dentistry; and 2. the Louisiana state Board of Dentistry approved clinical examination. This examination will be named by the board and this approval may be changed or amended as deemed necessary by the board. C. Examination scores are valid for initial licensure for five years following the candidate’s successful completion of an accepted licensing examination. The examination accepted by the Board of Dentistry for initial licensure by examination is the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) dental examination. D. The board is expressly authorized to utilize the services of other licensed dentists to facilitate the examination. E. No clinical licensing examination may be conducted in the state of Louisiana without the written permission from the Louisiana state Board of Dentistry. For permission to be granted, the agency conducting the examination must have at least four current members of the Louisiana state Board of Dentistry participating in the clinical licensing examination. F. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary or any examination manual of any of the testing agencies listed in Subsection C of this Section, no candidate for licensure in the state of Louisiana will be granted same if said candidate has failed any clinical licensing examination for a total of three times. This number includes the accumulation of all examinations taken regardless of the testing agency. This number excludes failures of clinical examinations taken prior to an applicant’s final year of dental school. A make-up examination counts as an examination. This prohibition may be overcome if the applicant meets all of the other requirements of this Section, including the successful completion of one of the examinations listed in Subsection C of this Section and: 1. has been actively practicing with an unrestricted dental license for five years in another state as defined in R.S. 37:751(A)(2), has not had any discipline by the dental board in any state, and, if deemed necessary, meets in person with the full board; or 2. following the last failure of a clinical licensure examination, completes a dental post-doctoral program of a minimum of one year which is accredited by an accreditation agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education and, if deemed necessary, meets in person with the full board.