32-1264. Maintenance of records

A. A person who is licensed or certified pursuant to this chapter shall make and maintain legible written records concerning all diagnoses, evaluations and treatments of each patient of record. A licensee or certificate holder shall maintain records that are stored or produced electronically in retrievable paper form. These records shall include:

1. All treatment notes, including current health history and clinical examinations.

2. Prescription and dispensing information, including all drugs, medicaments and dental materials used for patient care.

3. Diagnosis and treatment planning.

4. Dental and periodontal charting. Specialist charting must include areas of requested care and notation of visual oral examination describing any areas of potential pathology or radiographic irregularities.

5. All radiographs.

B. Records are available for review and for treatment purposes to the dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist or denturist providing care.

C. On request, the licensee or certificate holder shall allow properly authorized board personnel to have access to the licensee's or certificate holder's place of practice to conduct an inspection and must make the licensee's or certificate holder's records, books and documents available to the board as part of an investigation process.

D. Within fifteen business days after a patient's written request, that patient's dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist or denturist or a registered business entity shall transfer legible and diagnostic quality copies of that patient's records to another licensee or certificate holder or that patient. The patient may be charged for the reasonable costs of copying and forwarding these records. A dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist, denturist or registered business entity may require that payment of reproduction costs be made in advance, unless the records are necessary for continuity of care, in which case the records shall not be withheld. Copies of records shall not be withheld because of an unpaid balance for dental services.

E. Unless otherwise required by law, a person who is licensed or certified pursuant to this chapter or a business entity that is registered pursuant to this chapter must retain the original or a copy of a patient's dental records as follows:

1. If the patient is an adult, for at least six years after the last date the adult patient received dental services from that provider.

2. If the patient is a child, for at least three years after the child's eighteenth birthday or for at least six years after the last date the child received dental services from the provider, whichever occurs later.