Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions

Preferred Citation

Minutes of the Virginia Board of Dentistry, [cite specific dates and accession used]. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession 54118 was transferred by the Dept. of Health Professions on 02/05/2024.

Historical Information

Regulation of the health professions began late in the nineteenth century. On January 31, 1884, the General Assembly passed an act creating the Board of Medical Examiners to certify physicians for practice in Virginia. Two years later, acts establishing the Board of Dental Examiners (now the Board of Dentistry) and the Board of Pharmacy were passed by the General Assembly on February 26 and March 3, 1886, respectively. The Board of Embalmers (now the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers) was created by an act passed on March 5, 1894, and the Board of Veterinary Examiners (now the Board of Veterinary Medicine) was established by an act passed on February 27, 1896. On May 1, 1903, the General Assembly created the Board of Graduate Nurses (now the State Board of Nursing), and on March 11, 1916, the Board of Optometry was established by legislative action.

The Dept. of Health Regulatory Boards was created by an act passed by the General Assembly on March 31, 1977, to provide administrative services to the health regulatory boards of the state. The boards continue to regulate their professions through the examination, licensing, and disciplining of the practitioners of health science. In 1986, the Dept. of Health Regulatory Boards became the Dept. of Health Professions. Its mission is to enhance the delivery of safe and competent health care by licensing qualified health care professionals, enforcing standards of practice, and providing information to both practitioners and consumers of health care services.

Scope and Content

Official minutes and related attachments documenting the meetings, activities, discussions and policy decisions, and recommendations of the Virginia Board of Dentistry. Also includes minutes for Committees and other groups (Credentials Committee, Clinical Exam Advisory Panel, Examination Committee, Executive Committee, Regulatory/Legislative Committee, Nominating Committee, Special Conference Committee, Dental Laboratory Workgroup (2012)), as well as records related to informal conferences, telephone conferences, formal hearings, public hearings, and new board member orientation.