(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The power to make rules regulating the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene includes the power to prohibit unlicensed persons from practicing dentistry and dental hygiene and the power to regulate how licensed persons practice the same.
(2) A primary goal of the provision of health care is to prioritize patient health, safety, and welfare.
(3) The board is in the best position to determine the dental practices that affect and prioritize the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to immunize the board, its members, employees, and agents from liability under state and federal anti-trust laws for the adoption of a rule that prioritizes patient health, safety, and welfare but appears to have elements that appear anti-competitive or have an anti-competitive effect when the effect on public health, safety, and welfare is clearly demonstrated and documented by the board.
(b) Subject to subsection (c), rules adopted under this section or Sections 34-9-18 and 34-9-43 may define and regulate the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene in a manner that prioritizes patient health, safety, and welfare, even if the rule has elements that appear anti-competitive or have an anti-competitive effect when the effect on public health, safety, and welfare is clearly demonstrated and documented by the board.
(c) A rule adopted under this section or Sections 34-9-18 and 34-9-43 may supplement or clarify any statutory definition but shall not conflict with any statute which defines the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to constrict or expand the current rights and privileges of any individual governed by the board beyond that which existed prior to the ruling in the United States Supreme Court decision N.C. State Bd. of Dental Examiners v. FTC, 135 S.Ct. 1101 (2015).
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to constrict or expand the current duties or responsibilities of the members of the board in any context outside of federal or state anti-trust immunity beyond that which existed prior to the ruling in the United States Supreme Court decision N.C. State Bd. of Dental Examiners v. FTC, 135 S.Ct. 1101 (2015).
Last modified: May 3, 2021