DENTISTS REGISTRATION ORDINANCE

DENTISTS REGISTRATION ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 156.

DENTISTS REGISTRATION.

To provide for the registration of dentlists.

[1st JULY, 1940.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Dentists
Registration Ordinance.

2. (1) In this Ordinance-

'Board' means the Dental Board uppointed, under

section 4;

'dangerous drug' means any drug to which the Dangerous

Drugs Ordinance shall apply;

'Medical Board' means the Medical Board of the Colons,

of Hong Kong;

'registered dentist' means a person whose name appears

for the time being on the register of dentists;

'registered pharmacist' means a pharmacist registered

under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.

(2) A person shall be deemed to practise dentistry within the
meaning of this Ordinance, who, for the sake of gain or
otherwise, holds himself out, whether directly or by implication,
as practising or being prepared to practise dentistry, or treat or
attempts to treat or professes to treat, cure, relieve or prevent
lesions or pain of the human teeth or jaws; or performs or
attempts to perform any operation thereon, or inserts or attempts
to insert any artificial teeth or appliances for the restoration,
regulation or improvement of the teeth or accessory structures.

3. (1) No person shall practise dentistry within the Colony
unless he is registered under this Ordinance. Any person who
acts in contravention of the provisions of this subsection shall be
guilty of an offence.

(2) Nothing in this section shall operate to prevent-

(a)the extraction of teeth for the relief of pain, or the
application of remedies for such purposes, by registered
medical practitioners; or

(b)the extraction of teeth by any registered pharmacist
when the case is urgent and when no registered
medical practitioner or registered dentist is available; or





(c)the practice ice of Chinese dentistry by persons practising
tooth extraction only, provided that they do


not make use of or administer or cause to be administered
any dangerous drug or any anaesthetic or use or cause to be
used any hypodermic or dental syringe.

(i) For the purposes of this Ordinance, there shall be.
established a Dental Board, hereinafter referred to as 'the Board',
consisting of the following persons

following

(a) the Director of Medical and Health Services;

(b) the Senior Government Dental Surgeon;

(c)two medical practitioners to be appointed by the Governor;
and

(d)four dental surgeons registrable under paragraph (a) or (b) of
section 7 to be, appointed by the Governor.

(2) Members, of the Board appointed tinder paragraphs (c) and (d)
of subsection (1) shall hold office for three years but shall be eligible
for reappointment.

(3) If the place of a member of the Board appointed under
paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) becomes vacant before the
expiration of his term of office, the vacancy shall he filled by
appointment by the Governor and any person so appointed shall hold
office so long only as the member in whose place he is appointed
would have held office.

(4) The Director of Medical and Health Services shall be President
of the Dental Board. The President shall be Chairnian of ill meetings at
which he shall attend, and in his absence the members present shall
elect one of the members ippointed under paragraph (d) of subsection
(1) to be Chairman.

(5) The Board shall meet at such places and times as the
President may appoint, and at any meeting four members shall form a
quorum. The Chairman of any meeting of the Board shall have a
casting vote.

5. (1) For the purposes of this Ordinance, there shall be a Dental
Registrar, hereinafter referred to as 'the Registrar', who shall perform
such duties in connexion with the register of dentists as may be
prescribed.





(2) The Director of Aledical and Health Services shall be the
Registrar.

6. A register of dentists, hereinafter referred to as 'the register',
shall be kept, in the form prescribed by the Registrar, who shall be
responsible for the maintenance aiid custody thereof.

7. Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the following
persons and no others shall be entitled to registration under this
Ordinance

(a)any person who holds a degree, diploma or other document
of any examining body in the Commonwealth or in any
foreign Cotintry which is recongnized by the General Council
of Medical Education and Registration of the United
Kingdom as registrable in the Dentists Register of the United
Kingdom;

(b)any person who holds a degree, diploma or other document
of any examining body which may from time to time be
recognized by the Board as entitling the holder thereof to
registration under this Ordinance;

(c)any person who at the commencement of this Ordinance is
registered under the Dentistry Ordinance, 1914;

(d) any person who has been engaged as his principal means of
livelihood in the practice of dentistry in the Colony up to the
commencement of this Ordinance, has furnished evidence of
good character to the salisfaction of the Board, and has
made application for registration before the 1st day of
January, 1941, or within such further period not exceeding
two years as the Board might in special circumstances have
allowed;

(e)any person who shall by reason of his professional
qualification, experience and skill, satisfy the Board that he is
a fit person to be registered under this Ordinance: Provided
that every person applying for registration under this
paragraph shall furnish such evidence of good character as
shall satisfy the Board.





8. (1) Any person entitled to be registered may apply to the
Registrar for registration. Every such application shall be made in such
manner and shall be accompanied by such documents, photographs
and particulars as may be prescribed.

(2) Where such person has complied with the provisions of
subsection (i) and with any regulations relating thereto, and has paid
the prescribed fee, he shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (3),
be admitted by the Board to tile register.

(3) If any person applying for registration has been convicted of
anv heinous offence or after due inquiry by the Board is deemed by it
to have been guilty of infamous or disgraceful conduct in any
professional respect the Board may refuse to enter the name of such
person upon the register. Upon Such inquiry the person against whom
such offence or conduct is alleged shall be entitled to appear and be
heard by counsel or solicitor.

9. Where a person has been admitted to the register, the Board
shall issue a certificate of registration, and such certificate shall entitle
such person to practise dentistry in the Colony until the next
succeeding 31st day of December. A photograph of such person shall
be affixed to such certificate.

10. (1) A body corporate may carry on the business of dentistry
if-
(a)it carries on no business other than dentistry or some
business ancillary to the business of dentistry; and
(b)a majority of the directors and all the operating staff thereof
are registered dentists:

Provided that a body corporate which was carrying on the
business of dentistry before the commencement of this Ordinance shall
not be disqualified from carrying on the business of dentistry under
this section by reason only that it carries on some business other than
dentistry or a business ancillary to that business, if that other business
is a business which the body was lawfully entitled at the
commencement of this Ordinance to carry on.





(2) Save as aforesaid it shall not be lawful for any body
corporate to carry on the business of dentistry, and if any body
corporate carries on the business of dentistry

in contravention of the provisions of this section every director
and manager thereof shall, unless he proves that the offence was
committed without his knowledge, be liable on conviction to a
fine of two thousand dollars for each offence.

(3) Every body corporate carrying on the business of
dentistry shall in every year at such tirne as is prescribed
transmit to the Registrar a statement in the prescribed forni
containing the names aiid addresses of all persons who are,
directors or managers of the company, or who perform dental
operations in connexion with the business of the company, and, if
any such body corporate fails so to do, it shall be deemed to be
carrying on the business of dentistry in contravention of the
provisions of this section.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the carrying on of
the business of dentistry by the operating staff of any
hospital of any description (including an institution for outpatients
only), or of any dental school, which is approved for the
purposes of this section by the Governor in Council.

11. (1) Every registered dentist practising in the Colony who
desires his name to be retained on the register shall, before the
end of every year, make application in the prescribed form, and
shall pay the prescribed fee, for retention of his narne on the
register during the ensuing

(2) Upon such application and payment, the applicant shall be
entitled to a certificate, to be styled the 'annual practising
certificate', authorizing him to practise dentistry during the year
for which the certificate is issued.

(3) The certificate shall be issued by the Registrar, and
shall, unless cancelled in the manner hereinafter provided, be in
force from the date of issue to the end of the year.

(4) The name of any registered dentist who fails to obtain
an annual practising certificate prior to the commencement of
any, year shall be removed from the register.





(5) If any person whose name has been removed from the register
tinder subsection (4) subsequently makes application in such manner
and pays such additional fee as may be prescribed in such case, the
Board may, after due consideration of the circumstances of the case,
direct that the name of such person shall be re-entered on the register
and that an annual practising certificate for the remainder of the year be
issued.

(6) Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the Board that any
person to whom an annual practising certificate has been issued under
this section is practising dentistry in such premises or under such
conditions as are deemed by the Board to be unsuitable for such
practice, the Board may direct that the name of such person shall be
removed from the register and that such annual practising certificate be
cancelled, and such certificate shall thereupon cease to be in force.

(7) If any person whose annual practising certificate has been
cancelled under subsection (6) makes application in such manner and
pays Such fee as may be prescribed in such case, the Board may, after
due consideration of the circumstances of the case, direct that the
name of such person shall be re-entered in the register and that an
annual practising certificate be issued.

(8) Any person who practises dentistry in the Colony who

(a)has not a certificate in force authorizing him to practise; or

(b)is in partnership with a person not having such a certificate;
or

(c)has in his employ any person practising dentistry not having
such a certificate,

shall be guilty of an offence.

12. (1) The Registrar shall publish annually in the Gazette, as
soon as practicable after the 1st day of January of each year, a list of
all persons registered under this Ordinance to whom an annual
practising certificate has been issued for that year, with their
qualifications and their places of carrying on business.





(2) A copy of the Gazette in which such list is published or a
certificate under the hand of the Registrar shall be prima facie
evidence in any proceedings that the persons named therein are
registered and authorized to practise under this Ordinance.

(3) The absence of the name of any person froni such list or a
certificate under the hand of the Registrar certifying the absence of the
narne of any person from such list shall be prima facie evidence that
such person is not authorized to practise under this Ordinance.

13. (1) Every registered dentist shall cause his certificate of
registration issued under section 9, with a photograph of himself
affixed thereto, to be exhibited in a conspicuous part of the premises in
which he practises dentistry.

(2) Any registered dentist who fails to comply with the provisions
of this section shall be liable to a fine of two hundred dollars, and, in
case of continued non-compliance, to a fine of ten dollars for every
day during which such non-compliance continues.

14. (1) It shall be lawful for any officer thereunto authorized in
writing by the Board to enter and inspect any premises used or
proposed to be used for the practice of dentistry. Such officer shall
produce, on demand, the written authority, signed by the President of
the Board, authorizing such entry and inspection.

(2) Any person person or persons wilfully obstructing a duly
authorized officer of the Board in the inspection of premises used or
proposed to be used for the practice of dentistry shall be guilty of an
offence, and shall be liable on conviction therefor to a fine of five
hundred dollars.

15. (1) No person shall be entitled to recover any fee or charge in
any court for the performance of any dental operation or for dental
attendance or advice unless, at the time of performing such operation
or rendering such attendance or advice, he was registered under this
Ordinance and had an annual practising certificate in force authorizing
him to practise or was entitled to practise under the provisions of
section 9.





(2) This section shall not apply to any person to whom the
provisions of subsection (2) of section 3 or section 26 apply.

16. (1) The Registrar shall from time to time insert in the register
any alteration which may come to his knowledge in the name or
address of any person registered.

(2) The Board may rerriove froni the register the nanie of any,
person who

(a) is believed to be deceased; or

(b)has no address in the Colony at which he can be Found or
has ceased to reside in the Colony for a period of five years;
or

(c) is no longer practising dentistry in the Colony.

17. (1) The Board may cancel a certificate of registration and direct
the removal from the register of the name of any person registered if
after due inquiry the Board is satisfied that such person

(a)has obtained registration by a fraudulent or incorrect
statement ; or

(b)has been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor or of any
offence against this Ordinance; or

(c)has been guilty of infamous or disgraceful conduct in a
professional sense; or

(d)has for any disciplinary reason been struck off the Dentists
Register of the United Kingdom or of any other country or
off the Roll of any Dental College or other licensing body,.

(2)Upon any such inquiry the person against whom
any offence under thereceding subsection is alleged shall
be entitled to appear and be heard by counsel or solicitor.

(3) The Registrar shall forthwith publish in the Gazette the name
of any person removed from the register under the provisions of this
section.

18. (1) Any person aggrieved by the removal of his name from the
register or by any, refusal or failure to register or re-enter his name in
the register may, within three months after the date of publication in
the Gazette of the removal of his name, or within six mobths after the
date of the refusal or failure to register or re-enter his name, as the case
may





be, at his option appeal, either to the Supreme Court or to the Governor
in Council against the removal or the refusal or the failure, as the case
may be, and oil any such appeal the Supreme Court, or the Governor in
Council, as the case may be, may make such order in the niatter as
seems proper, including any order as to the costs of the appeal.

(2) Any person who appeals under subsection (1) shall, after the
commencement of proceedings, be deemed io have made a conclusive
election and any order of the Supreme Court or the Governor in
Council, as the case may be, made therein, shall be final and conclusive,
and no appeal shall lie from such order.

(3)(a) An appeal to the Supreme Court shall be made to a single
judge by notice of motion, and supported by, affidavit, or, if
the court shall so direct on the hearing of the motion by oral
evidence, and, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance,
the provisions of Part IV of the Code of Civil Procedure shall,
so far as practicable, apply to and govern the appeal.

(b)An appeal to the Governor in Council shall be by petition.

19. Aily person who fraudulently procures or attempts to procure
himself or any other person to be registered under this Ordinance shall
be guilty of an offence.

20. Any person riot registered as a dentist under this Ordiriance
who wilfully or falsely pretends to be or takes or uses the name or title
of a dentist, dental surgeon, qualified
dentist, doctor of dental surgery,, professor of dentistry surgeon
dentist, or any name, title, addition or description implying, whether in
itself or in the circumstances in which it is used,. that such person is a
dentist or that such person is qualified to heal or treat dental disorders
or derangements whether by dentistry or any other means of any kind
or description whatsoever, shall be guilty of an offence.

21. A registered dentist not entitled to registration under
paragraph (a) or (b) Of section 7 shall not make use, in describing his
vocation, of aily term other than that of 'registered dentist'. Any such
registered dentist who wilfully or falsely pretends to be or takes or
uses the name or





title of a dental surgeon, surgeon dentist, qualified dentist, doctor of
dental surgery, professor of dentistry or any name, title or description
iniplying in itself or in the circumstances in which it is used that such
registered dentist possesses or holds any qualification to practise
other than that he is registered as a dentist shall be guilty of an
offence.

22. Any registered dentist who practises dentistry in premises in
which aii unregistered person practises dentistry shall be guilty of an
offence.

23. A prosecution for an offence against this Ordinance may be
instituted by the Board.

24. Ariy person guilty of an offence against this Ordinance for
which no specific penalty is provided shall, on summary conviction, be
liable to a fine of one thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six
months.

25. (1) The Governor in Council shall have power to make
regulations for giving effect to the provisions of this Ordinance.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by
the last foregoing subsection, regulations inade under this section may
in particular prescribe

(a)the procedure to be adopted at meetings of the Board ;

(b) the duties of the Registrar;

(c)the form of the register and the mode in which it shall be
kept;

(d)the fees to be paid in respect of proceedings, and in respect
of certificates issued, under this Ordinance;

(e)the manner in which applications for registration shall be
made;

(f) the procedure to be adopted at inquiries before the Board;

(g)the forms of any certificates or other documents required for
carrying out the. purposes of this Ordinance.

26. All dentists of His Majesty's Navy, Army or Air

Force residing in the Colony and all dentists in the public service of
the Colony who possess any of the qualifications mentioned in
paragraph (a) or (b) of section 7 shall, while in





the discharge of their duties, be registered wider this Ordinance but
shall be exempt froni the provisions of sections 8, 9, 11 and 13.

27. (1) Nothing in this Ordinance shall operate to prevent the
practice of medicine or surgery by a medical practitioner registered
under the Medical Registration Ordinance

(2) Nothing in this Ordinance shall operate to prevent the training
of medical and dental students in the practice of dentistry under the
supervision of a registered dentist in a hospital or dental school
approved for the purposes of this subsection by the Governor in
Council.
1 of 1940. 35 of 1949. 22 of 1950. 24 of 1950. Short title. Interpretation. (Cap. 134.) (Cap. 138.) Dentist to be registered. Constitution of the Dental Board. 35 of 1949, s.2. Dental Registrar. [s. 5 cont.] Keeping of register. Persons who are entitled to registration. (16 of 1914.) 24 of 1950, Schedule. Application for registration. Certificate of registration. Dental companies. [s. 10 cont.] 22 of 1950, Schedule. Certificate to practise. Publication of register and presumptions. [s. 12 cont.] Certificate of registration to be exhibited. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Inspection of premises used for the practice of dentistry. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Recovery of fees. Correction of register. Cancellation of certificate of registration. Appeal against removal from register or refusal to register. [s. 18 cont.] (Cap. 4, rules) Penalty for fraudulent registration. Penalty for falsely pretending to be or taking or using the name or title of a dentist. Penalty for registered dentist falsely describing his vocation. Covering. Prosecutions. General penalty. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Regulations. Exemptions from sections 8, 9, 11 and 13. [s. 26 cont.] Exemptions. (Cap. 161.)

1 of 1940. 35 of 1949. 22 of 1950. 24 of 1950. Short title. Interpretation. (Cap. 134.) (Cap. 138.) Dentist to be registered. Constitution of the Dental Board. 35 of 1949, s.2. Dental Registrar. [s. 5 cont.] Keeping of register. Persons who are entitled to registration. (16 of 1914.) 24 of 1950, Schedule. Application for registration. Certificate of registration. Dental companies. [s. 10 cont.] 22 of 1950, Schedule. Certificate to practise. Publication of register and presumptions. [s. 12 cont.] Certificate of registration to be exhibited. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Inspection of premises used for the practice of dentistry. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Recovery of fees. Correction of register. Cancellation of certificate of registration. Appeal against removal from register or refusal to register. [s. 18 cont.] (Cap. 4, rules) Penalty for fraudulent registration. Penalty for falsely pretending to be or taking or using the name or title of a dentist. Penalty for registered dentist falsely describing his vocation. Covering. Prosecutions. General penalty. 22 of 1950, Schedule. Regulations. Exemptions from sections 8, 9, 11 and 13. [s. 26 cont.] Exemptions. (Cap. 161.)

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