The Maryland dental jurisprudence exam is an open-book, take-home test on Maryland dental law that every applicant for dental licensure must pass with a score of at least 75%. You download it from the State Board of Dental Examiners, complete it at home using the Maryland Dental Practice Act and the Code of Maryland Regulations, and mail it back with a notarized affidavit and a $50 fee.1Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners. Application for Dental Licensure for Dentists Licensed in Another State
Where the Questions Come From
Every question is drawn from two legal sources. The first is the Maryland Dental Practice Act, which sits in Title 4 of the Health Occupations Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. It establishes the Board, defines the practice of dentistry, sets licensing requirements, and lists prohibited acts and penalties.2Justia. Maryland Code Health Occupations Title 4 – Dentistry The second is COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 44, which fills in the operational detail: supervision levels, permit classes, record requirements, fee amounts, and conduct rules.3Library of Maryland Regulations. Subtitle 44 Board of Dental Examiners Questions test application rather than memorization, so the task on exam day is finding the right provision quickly, not reciting it.
How To Take The Exam
The exam is not proctored and cannot be taken online. You print a hard copy, complete it at home with both legal sources open in front of you, and return it by mail.1Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners. Application for Dental Licensure for Dentists Licensed in Another State The format is multiple-choice.
Along with the completed answers, you must submit a notarized affidavit swearing that you read the Dental Practice Act and regulations in their entirety, that you used only authorized sources, and that no other person helped you.4Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners. Application for Dental Licensure by Examination Treat the affidavit seriously. A fraudulent statement on a document connected with licensure is itself a ground for the Board to deny or revoke a license.
The fee is $50, payable to MSBDE or the Maryland Board of Dental Examiners. Cash is not accepted.5Maryland Department of Health. Licensure Information Mail the exam, affidavit, and payment to the Board at 55 Wade Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228.6Maryland Department of Health. Board of Dental Examiners The Board states that application processing can take up to 30 days, so build that into your licensure timeline.
You need 75% to pass.1Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners. Application for Dental Licensure for Dentists Licensed in Another State If you fall short, the Board imposes a waiting period before you can retake it. Because the exam is open-book, candidates who read both sources carefully before starting generally clear the threshold.
If you need testing accommodations, the take-home format already addresses many standard needs, but contact the Board before you begin if you require specific adjustments. The Americans with Disabilities Act covers licensing exams and can require large-print materials, extended time, screen-reading technology, scribes, accessible stations, and permission to take medications during the exam.7ADA.gov. ADA Requirements: Testing Accommodations
What The Exam Covers
The subject areas below are the ones that produce the most exam questions. Reading the full statute and COMAR is still the right preparation; this is a map of where to slow down.
Scope of Practice and Supervision
This is the largest topic area. Maryland draws precise lines between what dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants can do, and the type of supervision each task requires. COMAR 10.44.04 lists the intraoral functions a dental hygienist may perform, including scaling and root planing, placing sealants, exposing radiographs, cementing temporary crowns, and taking impressions for study models or athletic mouth guards.8Maryland Department of Health. COMAR 10.44.04 – Practice of Dental Hygiene Expanded functions carry specific rules. A hygienist administering local anesthesia requires the supervising dentist to be physically on the premises and to have prescribed the anesthesia for that patient.9Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 10.44.04.06 – Local Anesthesia The same on-premises rule applies to nitrous oxide administration by a hygienist.
Dental assistants qualified for orthodontic functions may prepare and fit orthodontic bands, place and remove arch wires, cement orthodontic attachments, and apply topical fluoride and topical anesthesia. Each of these tasks must be done under direct supervision and only in response to a specific instruction from the dentist.10Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 10.44.01.04 – Dental Assistants Recognized as Qualified in Orthodontics Expect scenario questions that turn on whether a task requires direct supervision or permits general supervision.
Sedation and Anesthesia Permits
Dentists who administer sedation beyond local anesthesia need a separate Board permit, and the exam tests whether you can match the sedation method to the correct class:
- Class I authorizes moderate sedation using a nonparenteral technique, such as oral sedation.
- Class II authorizes moderate sedation using a parenteral technique, such as IV sedation, and covers everything a Class I permit covers.
- Class III authorizes deep sedation or general anesthesia and covers everything Class I and II permits cover.
A separate Class III dental school facility permit allows qualified holders to administer sedation within accredited dental school settings.11Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 10.44.12.05 – Classifications of Permits and Authorization
Advertising
Maryland’s advertising rule is one of the more specific provisions tested. A licensed dentist may not advertise in a way that guarantees any dental work, makes a blanket claim of painless treatment, claims to perform dental work in a superior manner, or is otherwise false or misleading.12Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Health Occupations 4-503 – Advertising The common trap: an ad promising “best results in the area” sounds like marketing puffery but runs into the superiority prohibition.
Records and Informed Consent
COMAR 10.44.30 requires every dentist to create and maintain a separate dental record for each patient, and sets out what those records must contain.13Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 10.44.30.02 – General Provisions for Handwritten, Typed, and Electronic Health Records Note that COMAR 10.44.30 explicitly excludes retention schedules, so the number of years you must keep records sits in other provisions. Performing a procedure without first obtaining informed consent from the patient or legal representative is classified as unprofessional conduct under COMAR 10.44.23.14Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 10.44.23.03 – Unprofessional or Dishonorable Conduct
Controlled Substances and Prescribing
Maryland’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program collects data on every dispensed controlled substance prescription in the state, and dentists who prescribe are expected to query it before writing certain prescriptions.15Maryland Department of Health. Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program An active DEA registration is required to prescribe any controlled substance at the federal level, and the MATE Act added a one-time eight-hour training requirement on safe controlled substance prescribing for DEA registration or renewal. Maryland reinforces this with a two-hour Board-approved course on proper prescribing and disposal every renewal cycle.16Maryland Department of Health. Continuing Education Requirements
Discipline
Section 4-315 of the Health Occupations Article gives the Board broad authority to deny, suspend, or revoke a license, place a dentist on probation, or issue a reprimand. Failure to comply with CDC universal precautions, except in life-threatening emergencies where compliance is not feasible, is an enumerated ground.17Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Maryland Dentistry Act Disciplinary Provisions So is making fraudulent representations on any document connected with practice, which is why the exam itself requires the sworn affidavit. Through a consent order, the Board may impose revocation, suspension, reprimand, administrative fines, mandatory coursework, substance abuse testing, and unannounced office inspections for a specified period.
Continuing Education
Every licensee must earn at least 30 hours of continuing education from Board-approved sponsors during each two-year renewal cycle, running January 1 through December 31 of the following year, with hours completed by December 31 of the year before renewal is due.16Maryland Department of Health. Continuing Education Requirements Within the 30 hours, several categories are mandatory: 2 hours of infection control each cycle; 2 hours on abuse and neglect every other cycle, covering Maryland law; and for dentists, 2 hours on prescribing and disposal of prescription drugs each cycle. CPR certification must be maintained continuously, though CPR hours do not count toward the 30-hour total.
How To Prepare
Because the exam is open-book, preparation is less about memorization and more about navigation. Read the Dental Practice Act and COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 44 all the way through once before you start answering, so you know what sits where. Tab or bookmark the sections above: hygienist and assistant functions, sedation permit classes, the advertising statute, records and consent rules, prescribing requirements, disciplinary grounds, and continuing education. When a scenario question appears, you want to know within seconds which source to open.