Mississippi Board of Dentistry

The Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners (MSBDE) is a legislatively mandated state regulatory agency charged with examining, licensing, registering, and regulating the practices of dentistry and dental hygiene to ensure competency and ethics among dental professionals in Mississippi. The Board states it is neither affiliated with nor a subsidiary of any private or professional organization.

Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 73-9-7, the Board is composed of eight members: seven licensed, actively practicing dentists and one licensed, actively practicing dental hygienist, each with at least five years of practice in Mississippi before appointment. Six of the dentist seats are elected from the state's six dental districts, and one dentist seat and the hygienist seat are appointed from the state at large. Nominees are drawn from polls of licensed dentists and hygienists in each district, and the Governor appoints members to staggered six-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate; members may not serve consecutive terms.

Current officers are M. Lewis Grubbs, D.M.D. (President, District IV), David K. Curtis, D.M.D. (Vice-President, District I), and Alexa L. Lampkin, D.M.D. (Secretary, Dental At-Large). Denny Hydrick serves as the Board's Executive Director.

Licensing, renewals, and license verification are managed through the Board's Online Portal at gateway.dentalboard.ms.gov.

The Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners licenses and permits the following credential types:

• Dentists (general and specialty)
• Dental Hygienists
• Radiology Permit Holders
• Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 Anesthesia Permit Holders
• Dental hygienists certified to administer local anesthesia
• Institutional, teaching, or provisional license holders
• Mobile/portable dental facilities

A dentist may hold more than one recognized dental specialty license concurrently if the Board determines the dentist has completed more than one ADA-accredited residency program in those specialties.

Mississippi offers two paths to initial licensure, both submitted through the Board's Online Portal at gateway.dentalboard.ms.gov.

Licensure by examination

Applicants who are graduates of an accredited dental or dental hygiene program and have passed the required national and regional board examinations may apply for licensure by examination. The statutory application fee is $250.00 for dentists and $150.00 for dental hygienists (Board Regulation 37).

Licensure by credentials (reciprocity)

Mississippi will only consider licensure-by-credentials applications from dentists and dental hygienists currently licensed in states that also credential Mississippi-licensed dentists and/or hygienists (Miss. Code Ann. § 73-9-24). To qualify, an applicant must:

• Be a graduate of an ADA-accredited dental or dental hygiene program — foreign-trained graduates cannot use this path
• Have actively practiced (a minimum of 90 days per year) for at least 5 years immediately preceding the application; up to 2 years of an ADA-accredited residency may count toward this requirement
• Not have failed the Mississippi licensure exam, or any other state or regional licensure exam within the past 5 years
• Not currently be, or have previously been, the subject of a disciplinary action or pending investigation in any licensing state
• Pass the Board's jurisprudence examination with a score of 75% or higher, completed within 90 days of applying

The application fee for licensure by credentials is $2,500.00 for dentists and $750.00 for dental hygienists. This fee only covers application processing — once a license is issued, the applicant must separately pay to renew (activate) the license within 60 days of receipt.

Continuing dental education (CDE) requirements are set by Board Regulation 41 (30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2301, R. 1.41). The biennial reporting period is offset by license type: for dentists it runs from January 1 of an even year through December 31 of the following odd year; for dental hygienists it runs from January 1 of an odd year through December 31 of the following even year.

CDE hours by license type

• Dentists who prescribe, administer, or dispense any controlled substance in Mississippi must complete 3 of their 40 hours on opioid prescribing
• CPR certification hours count toward CDE, capped at 8 hours per cycle; ACLS is capped at 16 hours; PALS is capped at 16 hours
• Attending official Board meetings counts for up to 4 hours of credit per meeting
• Instructing a Board-approved CDE course earns the same credit as taking it, but only once per course per cycle
• Non-in-person (online, correspondence, video, or audio) courses must include a post-study exam, and records must be kept for at least 3 years

Exempt from CDE requirements: licensees enrolled full-time in postgraduate specialty training, licensees in their first biennial renewal period, and licensees whose license was inactive during that renewal period. Board-approved CDE may come from the ADA, Academy of General Dentistry, Mississippi Dental Association, Mississippi Dental Society, National Dental Association, National Dental Hygienists' Association, Mississippi Dental Hygienists' Association, American Dental Hygienists' Association, American Association of Dental Boards, the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, or courses the Board approves individually. See Board Regulation 41 for the full list.

Board Regulation 13 defines supervision requirements for dental auxiliaries. Historically, dental hygienists and dental assistants in Mississippi could only work under a dentist's direct supervision — meaning the dentist is physically present, personally diagnoses the condition, authorizes the procedure, remains on site during treatment, and evaluates the auxiliary's work.

Separately, dental hygienists may become certified to administer local anesthesia under a dentist's on-site supervision after completing a CODA-accredited course and passing a recognized regional exam ($50.00 initial / $25.00 renewal certification fee).

Board Regulation 13 also lists procedures that may never be delegated to unlicensed auxiliary personnel, including subgingival exploration and periodontal probing, use of ultrasonic/sonic scaling instruments, taking final impressions for restorations, cementing or torquing permanent restorations, adjusting occlusion, activating orthodontic appliances, most injections, pulp therapy, intraoral restorative procedures, and placing subgingival medicated cord.

A complaint alleging a violation of the Mississippi Dental Practice Act must be made in writing and signed by the complainant. You can:

• File electronically via the Online Complaint Form
• Mail a written complaint to the Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners, 715 S. Pear Orchard Road, Suite 200, Ridgeland, MS 39157
• Email dental@dentalboard.ms.gov

Include as much detail and documentation as possible: your contact information, the nature and dates of treatment, insurance claim forms, correspondence and billing records, the names of all dentists and dental auxiliaries involved, and any dental photographs.

Note that fee disputes with a practitioner should not be addressed to the Board. Once a complaint is filed, the Board sends an acknowledgment and may have an investigator contact you for more information. After investigating, the Board determines whether probable cause exists and may remand the case without action, issue a non-disciplinary Letter of Concern, pursue a Consent Order, or schedule a Formal Disciplinary Hearing. All disciplinary actions are considered reportable offenses. Resolution can take several months. See Miss. Code Ann. Title 73, Chapter 9, particularly §§ 73-9-61, 73-9-63, and 73-9-65, for the statutory process.

License status for Mississippi dentists, dental hygienists, and radiology permit holders can be searched through the Board's License Search portal at gateway.dentalboard.ms.gov/verification/search.aspx. Search by the licensee's name to view their current license status.

Reviewing disciplinary orders

The Board separately publishes the underlying disciplinary documents — consent orders and final orders — organized by year, on its Board Orders page. Each entry links to the actual order as a downloadable PDF, identifying the licensee, the docket number, and the violation found. This is the most direct way to read the details behind a disciplinary action rather than just seeing that one exists.

Complaints that result in a formal disciplinary action are considered reportable offenses. Underlying laws and Board regulations governing discipline are available under Laws and Codes.