Rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.; s. 466.003, F.S.
The tightest of Florida's three supervision levels for remediable tasks, defined in rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C. It has five elements: the dentist examines the patient, diagnoses the condition, authorizes the procedure, remains on the premises while it is performed, and approves the work before the patient leaves. Gingival curettage, hygienist local anesthesia, and every remediable restorative function are direct-supervision tasks.
Rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.
The middle supervision level under rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.: the dentist examines, diagnoses, authorizes, and is on the premises — but does not have to approve the work before the patient leaves. That single dropped element is the only difference from direct supervision, and it is a heavily tested distinction. Relocating candidates should note Florida defines an indirect tier for dental auxiliaries that some other states do not use.
Rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.
The loosest supervision level under rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.: the dentist authorizes the procedure but need not be present, and the work may even happen away from the dentist's usual place of practice. A general-supervision authorization is valid for a maximum of 24 months; once it lapses, no further treatment under general supervision may occur without another clinical exam by a Florida-licensed dentist. Prophylaxis, root planing, radiographs, and sealants sit at this level for hygienists.
s. 466.003, F.S.; rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C.
A task that is reversible and does not create unalterable changes in the mouth or added risk to the patient, as defined in s. 466.003, F.S. Only remediable tasks may be delegated to dental hygienists and dental assistants, and the Board designates them by rule in chapter 64B5-16, F.A.C., each with a required supervision level and training gate.
s. 466.003, F.S.
A task that creates unalterable changes, is not reversible, or adds risk to the patient — the opposite of a remediable task under s. 466.003, F.S. Irremediable tasks can never be delegated to any auxiliary. The statute makes administering anesthesia, other than topical, irremediable by definition, and rule 64B5-16.001, F.A.C., adds that a laser of any type is never a remediable task unless used purely as an assessment device.
Rules 64B5-16.0051 and 64B5-16.0061, F.A.C.
Florida's version of what other states call an EFDA (expanded functions dental assistant/auxiliary) system, set out in rules 64B5-16.0051 and 64B5-16.0061, F.A.C. After the dentist prepares the tooth, a trained assistant or hygienist may place, pack, and contour the restoration under direct supervision, using only a slow-speed handpiece and hand instruments, with the dentist verifying the final restoration in the chart. A delegating dentist may supervise no more than four such auxiliaries in combination at once.
Rule 64B5-16.0061, F.A.C.
The bright line inside the remediable restorative functions: a trained hygienist or assistant may fit and contour a stainless-steel crown, but may never permanently cement it — cementation stays with the dentist. Rule 64B5-16.0061, F.A.C., states the prohibition twice, in the delegation text and again in the course design, which is a signal of how often it is tested.
s. 466.018, F.S.
The dentist identified in the chart as primarily responsible for all treatment on a patient, under s. 466.018, F.S. If no dentist of record is named, the law presumes it is the owner of the practice, and in a disciplinary proceeding treatment is presumed rendered by the dentist of record unless the record says otherwise. The designation changes only by written acknowledgment in the record, or automatically when the dentist of record leaves the practice and the patient stays.
s. 456.0145, F.S.; rule 64B5-2.0141, F.A.C.
Florida's licensure-by-endorsement pathway under the Mobile Opportunity by Interstate Licensure Endorsement (MOBILE) Act, s. 456.0145, F.S. It lets an experienced out-of-state licensee with a clean record obtain a Florida license without retaking the clinical examination — but rule 64B5-2.0141, F.A.C., still requires passing the Florida Laws and Rules examination. The rule was adopted in December 2024, so prep material written before 2025 will not mention this pathway at all.
s. 466.0067, F.S.
A special license under s. 466.0067, F.S., for experienced out-of-state dentists who limit practice to health access settings. It waives the Florida clinical exam but requires passing the Florida laws-and-rules examination, and under s. 466.00672, F.S., the board must revoke it if the licensee later fails the Florida dental licensure examination, loses the qualifying job, or commits a non-minor violation. Practicing outside a health access setting on this license is unlicensed practice.
s. 466.003, F.S.
A defined list of underserved-care locations in s. 466.003, F.S. — programs of the Department of Health, Department of Children and Families, and Department of Juvenile Justice, nonprofit community health centers, Head Start centers, federally qualified health centers and look-alikes, school-based prevention programs, and accredited dental and dental hygiene school clinics. In these settings, s. 466.024, F.S., lets a hygienist perform six listed tasks without a dentist's presence, prior examination, or authorization, subject to disclaimers, medical clearance, and insurance conditions.
s. 893.055, F.S.
Florida's prescription drug monitoring program (Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substances Evaluation), created by s. 893.055, F.S. A prescriber or dispenser — or a designee of either — must consult the system before prescribing or dispensing any Schedule II-V controlled substance for a patient 16 or older. If the system is not consulted, the reason must be documented and the supply is capped at 3 days. It is the Florida counterpart to other states' PDMPs, such as California's CURES, and the duties differ.
s. 456.44, F.S.
The exact phrase a prescriber must write on a Schedule II opioid prescription for acute pain to exceed Florida's 3-day supply limit, under s. 456.44, F.S. The exception allows up to a 7-day supply, and only when three parts are all present: the prescriber's judgment that more than 3 days is medically necessary, the words "ACUTE PAIN EXCEPTION" on the prescription itself, and chart documentation of the condition and the lack of alternative treatments.
s. 456.44, F.S.
The notation s. 456.44, F.S., requires on a Schedule II opioid prescribed for pain other than acute pain. Together with the 3-day rule and the ACUTE PAIN EXCEPTION, it means every Schedule II opioid script for pain tells the pharmacist which regime it is under. The statute excludes cancer pain, terminal-condition pain, palliative care, and serious traumatic injury (Injury Severity Score of 9 or greater) from the acute-pain definition.
2026 ADEX Candidate Guide
Unscored trial questions embedded in the exam — up to 5 on both the FDLR and the FHLR, per the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide. They are not flagged on screen, so answer every item as if it counts. They explain the "up to" phrasing in the official counts of up to 67 (FDLR) and up to 64 (FHLR) items.
s. 466.0235, F.S.; rule 64B5-16.0075, F.A.C.
Recording visual observations — existing restorations, missing teeth, suspicious areas, periodontal pockets — without X-rays, laboratory tests, or diagnostic equipment, under s. 466.0235, F.S. Hygienists may chart without supervision in listed community settings, but only after a signed written disclosure form whose ten required contents are listed in rule 64B5-16.0075, F.A.C. Charting is data collection, never diagnosis: it creates neither a patient of record nor a medical record, and a periodontal probe requires prior medical clearance noted on the form.
s. 120.565, F.S.
A binding agency opinion, under s. 120.565, F.S., on how a statute, rule, or order applies to the petitioner's own particular circumstances. It is the formal mechanism a Florida licensee uses to get an official answer from the Board of Dentistry about a scope or delegation question before acting, and published declaratory statements show how the Board reads its own rules.
ss. 466.013, 466.0135, 466.014, F.S.
Florida's 2-year license cycle. Licenses renew biennially under s. 466.013, F.S., and continuing education is measured per biennium: not less than 30 hours for dentists (s. 466.0135, F.S.) and at least 24 hours for hygienists (s. 466.014, F.S.). Several CE topics run on their own biennium clocks — 2 hours of medical-errors CE every biennium and 2 hours of domestic-violence CE every third biennium, per rule 64B5-12.013, F.A.C.
2026 ADEX Candidate Guide
The test-center network where the FDLR and FHLR are delivered as computer-based, closed-book examinations, per the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide. Reference materials and electronic devices are conduct violations at the center. Results are reported pass/fail only, in 2-3 business days.
Rules 64B5-2.013 and 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C.
ADEX is the American Board of Dental Examiners, developer of Florida's required clinical examinations; the CDCA (Commission on Dental Competency Assessments, operating as CDCA-WREB-CITA) administers them. The same organization administers the Florida Laws and Rules examinations under contract to the Florida Board of Dentistry. Rules 64B5-2.013 and 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., name the ADEX examinations as Florida's clinical requirement.
s. 456.47, F.S.
Florida governs dental care delivered by telehealth through s. 456.47, F.S., which sets practice standards, a registration pathway for out-of-state telehealth providers, and records duties. Related dental-specific rules are testable alongside it: s. 466.019, F.S., requires an in-person-examination disclaimer on telehealth ads for impressions, prostheses, appliances, and malocclusion correction, and s. 466.0281, F.S., requires an in-person examination (or records of one within the previous 12 months) before initial orthodontic treatment.
Rules 64B5-2.013(1) and 64B5-2.0135(3), F.A.C.
The requirement that all parts of the ADEX examination be completed within 18 months from the initial start of any portion (or from July 1 of the applicant's last school year), under rules 64B5-2.013(1) and 64B5-2.0135(3), F.A.C. The window attaches to the clinical examination parts. The Laws and Rules exams are standalone computer-based exams per the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide — claims that the FDLR or FHLR must fit inside the 18-month window are wrong.
2026 ADEX Candidate Guide
The value of an exam registration payment held on account with the vendor. Under the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide, registration credits expire 2 years from the original payment date. That 2-year credit clock — not the clinical 18-month window — is the only expiration that touches the Laws and Rules exams, and each retake is a new full-fee registration ($135 FDLR, $105 FHLR).
s. 466.023, F.S.; rule 64B5-9.010, F.A.C.
The written instrument a dentist issues to send a hygienist to treat a patient of record outside the office — in licensed health facilities, public and educational institutions, or a nonambulatory patient's home — under s. 466.023, F.S. It is valid for up to 2 years (the dentist may shorten it, never lengthen it), and rule 64B5-9.010, F.A.C., requires four contents: the patient's identity, the dentist's identity and license number, the named hygienist's identity and license number, and the specific services authorized with their frequency. The prescribing dentist keeps it in the patient's dental record and remains responsible for the care.
Dentovio is an independent publisher. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Florida Board of Dentistry, ADEX, CDCA, or Prometric, and this page is not legal advice.
This page summarizes publicly available Florida dental law as of the last verified date shown. Laws change. Confirm current requirements with the Florida Board of Dentistry or a licensed healthcare attorney before acting.
Dentovio provides independent educational preparation using original exam-style material. It does not reproduce recalled exam questions, and this content is for educational purposes only — it does not constitute legal advice.
This page was drafted with AI assistance, and every rule on it was verified against the primary sources listed here. The Florida study content is pending credentialed review: no reviewer has signed off yet, and no reviewer claim is made. Florida publishes no pass rate for these examinations, and Dentovio makes no outcome claim.
