rules & regulations
Texas Dental Board
Considers Controversial
and Anti-Competitive
Rule Changes Restricting
Dental Service Organizations
by Brian Colao
T he Texas Dental Board is considering two controversial changes to its rules that, if adopted, will restrict the
ability of dentists to contract with Dental Service
Organizations (DSOs) and which the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) has stated are unnecessary and may
reduce competition. The proposed rules have generated considerable controversy, created confusion in
the Texas dental community as to the motive and
meaning behind the proposed regulations and may
result in a protracted legal dispute or new clarifying leg-
islation during the upcoming 2015 legislative session.
Proposed 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 108.70 imposes new
restrictions on the ability of Texas dentists to enter into contracts with unlicensed persons for the provision of non-clinical
services such as accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, financial
services, billing, collection, advertising, marketing, consulting
and other non-clinical administrative services. Proposed 22
TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 108.74 would make individual dentists
who contract with DSOs legally responsible for certain nonclinical administrative services that they delegate.
DSOs are generally defined as companies (often owned by nondentists) that contract with dentists to provide a variety of nonclinical business services that would otherwise be handled
within a practice or by multiple contractors providing individ18 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com