State Dental Practice Act Matrix

Symbol	Meaning
Yes	Requirement or topic is specifically addressed in the researched sources.
No	No specific requirement identified in the researched sources.
Limited	Requirement exists but appears narrow, indirect, or context-specific.
Not found	The Deep Research review did not locate a clear official provision.
Verify	The source was incomplete, indirect, blocked, or should be confirmed before relying on it.

State	Commercial Lab Registration	Lab Permit	Written Rx / Work Authorization	Record Retention	Material Disclosure	Subcontracting Rules	Denture Identification	Digital Work Orders	Direct Patient Contact	Technician Licensing / Recognition	Overall Lab Regulation	Notes
Alabama	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Alabama expressly addresses dentists' use of a commercial dental laboratory or private technician. The act requires a prescription accompanying prosthetic, splint, and orthodontic work; it specifies required prescription contents and requires both the dentist and the lab/technician to retain the records for two years, open to board inspection.
Alaska	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	In the official Alaska statutes and regulations compilation I located, I did not surface a distinct dental-laboratory licensure or registration chapter. The retrieved materials suggest Alaska governs lab activity indirectly through the general practice act and board regulations for dentist-centered practice rather than through a separate commercial-lab regime.
Arizona	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Arizona expressly defines a "dental laboratory technician" as a non-dentist who, pursuant to a dentist's written work order, fabricates artificial teeth, crowns, bridges, dentures, and similar restorations. That keeps technician work in the extraoral fabrication lane and firmly tied to dentist authorization rather than independent clinical judgment.
Arkansas	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Moderate	Arkansas is a classic written-work-authorization state. The official practice-act compilation requires the dentist's work authorization to state the patient identifier, date, work description, materials, and dentist signature and license number, and it requires the receiving person, firm, or corporation to retain the original.
California	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Low	The official Dental Board of California laws page is the correct starting point, but in the materials retrieved it did not cleanly surface a current standalone commercial-laboratory article comparable to Florida or Washington. Current California board materials nevertheless treat dental laboratory technicians, including commercial lab technicians, as part of the infection-control environment, and board forms specifically reference laboratory areas and laboratory lathes.
Colorado	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	An accessible official legislature text was not surfaced in this session; the link located through the board directory was a board-linked practice-act compilation. In the materials I could retrieve, I did not identify a standalone dental-laboratory license, registration, or work-order section comparable to the stronger lab-regulation states.
Connecticut	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The official chapter 379 materials retrieved did not surface a separate dental-laboratory licensing or registration regime. Connecticut appears to govern laboratories indirectly through the general dentistry practice chapter and the board's general rules rather than through a distinct commercial-lab statute in the sources retrieved.
Delaware	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	Delaware does not appear, in the materials I retrieved, to separately license commercial dental laboratories. It does, however, expressly include "dental laboratory work" within the generalized tasks that may be delegated to dental assistants, which shows Delaware treats lab activity as dentist-delegable support work rather than an independent clinical practice.
District of Columbia	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	The D.C. code and dentistry regulations page retrieved for this report did not surface a standalone dental-laboratory licensing or registration program.
Florida	Yes	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	High	Florida is one of the clearest laboratory-regulation states. Chapter 466 itself includes dental laboratories, requires dentists who use labs for constructing, altering, repairing, or duplicating prosthetic appliances to furnish a written prescription, and clarifies that issuing a written work authorization to a commercial dental laboratory does not by itself constitute "general supervision." Separate rule division 64B27 directly governs dental laboratories, including registration and discipline; Florida is therefore a true entity-regulation state for labs.
Georgia	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	The statute host surfaced here through a state-linked Lexis portal rather than a plainly accessible legislature page. In the materials retrieved for this report, I did not find a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or work-order section comparable to Florida, Minnesota, or Washington.
Hawaii	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	The official chapter 448 link returned a 403 error in this session, so I could not inspect the primary text directly. Based on the official link set retrieved, I did not identify a separate dental-laboratory licensure or registration regime.
Idaho	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Idaho's official statute page was blocked to this session's search bot, so I could not inspect the underlying chapter directly. In the official link set I located, I did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or detailed work-order subchapter.
Illinois	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Illinois has a well-developed lab framework. The act defines "dental laboratory," requires a dentist to furnish a written prescription when a lab constructs or repairs extraoral prosthetic work, and requires a subcontracting laboratory to issue its own written order to the subcontractor; the statute also makes clear that a prescription to a lab does not constitute general supervision.
Indiana	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Moderate	Indiana requires a separate written work authorization for each patient for whom dental technological work is to be performed. The official board compilation surfaced required authorization contents and confirms that a dentist or other authorized practitioner must issue the order, which places lab fabrication squarely in a prescription-controlled model.
Iowa	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Iowa is notable because its current rules expressly define "dental laboratory technician." The rules say a technician who performs duties of a dental assistant must also be registered as a dental assistant, which sharply polices the boundary between extraoral lab work and chairside delegated functions. Iowa therefore uses the rulebook, more than the bare statute chapter, to regulate technician status and crossover duties.
Kansas	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The official Kansas dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate dental-laboratory license or registration section. Kansas appears to regulate labs mainly through the general dental practice act and the Kansas Dental Board's rules rather than through a dedicated lab statute in the materials I could access.
Kentucky	Yes	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	High	Kentucky directly regulates commercial dental laboratories by administrative rule. 201 KAR 8:016 requires each commercial dental laboratory operating or doing business in Kentucky to register with the board, and it defines doing business broadly enough to include work product prepared under a written authorization originating in Kentucky.
Louisiana	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Louisiana Dental Practice Act and board rules materials retrieved did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure chapter. Louisiana therefore appears, from the accessible materials reviewed here, to regulate lab activity through the general dental practice act and board rules rather than through a freestanding laboratory statute.
Maine	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Maine dental professions chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or registration regime. Maine appears to govern laboratories indirectly through the general dental professions chapter and board rules rather than through a dedicated technician or lab subchapter in the materials I could access.
Maryland	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The link surfaced for Maryland's statute text was a Westlaw-hosted code page that did not load in this session. In the available materials reviewed for this report, I did not identify a separate commercial dental-laboratory license or work-order chapter.
Massachusetts	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Massachusetts chapter and board-rule links retrieved did not surface a distinct commercial dental-laboratory licensure or technician-practice framework. Massachusetts appears to regulate laboratories mainly through the general Board of Registration in Dentistry statute and rules rather than a separate lab subchapter in the materials I could access.
Michigan	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Moderate	Michigan expressly requires a dentist to furnish a written work authorization to a dental laboratory. The related section on authorization contents shows Michigan uses a board-prescribed form model, which makes documentation--not separate lab licensure--the main visible compliance mechanism in the statute excerpts surfaced here.
Minnesota	Yes	Not found	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	High	Minnesota has one of the more developed laboratory statutes in the country. It defines both "work order" and "work authorization," requires registered dental laboratories to work only from valid dentist work orders or properly issued work authorizations, gives a clear statutory framework for lab-to-lab subcontracting, and requires material-content notice to the prescribing dentist.
Mississippi	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Mississippi board's official Dental Practice Act page was located, but the materials retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or registration program. Mississippi therefore appears to regulate laboratories mainly through the broader dental practice act and board rules rather than through a dedicated lab statute in the sources I could access.
Missouri	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Missouri regulates laboratories through documentation and specific prosthetic-related permissions. The statutes require dentists and nondentists to maintain copies of laboratory work orders for seven years, and the board's shade-verification rule allows a dental laboratory technologist to verify the shade of a prosthesis when prescribed under a uniform laboratory work order.
Montana	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The materials located for Montana show both a general dentistry chapter and a separate denturitry chapter, which means removable prosthetic work is partly treated in a separate profession-specific framework. I did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or work-order chapter in the dentistry materials retrieved.
Nebraska	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The official Nebraska practice-act compilation retrieved for this report did not surface a distinct dental-laboratory licensure or technician chapter. Nebraska appears to govern laboratory-adjacent issues mainly through its dentistry practice act and dental-office/assistant rules rather than through a freestanding commercial-lab regime in the retrieved materials.
Nevada	Not found	Not found	Yes	Limited	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	Current Nevada law expects written authorization/documentation even though I did not locate a separate dental-laboratory registration chapter in the core practice act materials. The statute explicitly says the board has discretion to examine work authorizations in dental offices or dental laboratories, which means labs should assume documentation must be inspection-ready.
New Hampshire	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The New Hampshire dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or registration regime. New Hampshire appears to regulate lab activity through the general dentistry chapter and board rules rather than through a dedicated lab subchapter in the materials I could access.
New Jersey	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Verify	Low	An official New Jersey legislative search portal was surfaced, but it was not initialized for direct section retrieval in this session. In the available materials retrieved for this report, I did not identify a clearly accessible standalone dental-laboratory registration or technician chapter.
New Mexico	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	New Mexico's retrieved materials were more notable for corporate-practice and lab-choice restrictions than for lab licensure. A board rule treats it as misconduct for an owner dentist or supervisor to require an employee dentist to use a particular dental laboratory when patient welfare would be better served by another lab.
New York	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The official New York page surfaced in this session was the Office of the Professions laws/rules page, but the retrieved text did not clearly display a commercial dental-laboratory framework. I did not identify a separate lab-registration or technician-practice chapter in the accessible New York materials reviewed here.
North Carolina	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The official North Carolina dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate dental-laboratory license or registration program. North Carolina appears to regulate laboratories indirectly through the general dentistry act and dental-board rules rather than through a distinct lab statute in the accessible materials.
North Dakota	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The North Dakota dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or registration chapter. North Dakota appears to regulate lab work through the general dentists/hygienists/assistants chapters and board rules rather than through a dedicated lab statute in the materials I could access.
Ohio	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	High	Ohio's lab regulation is unusually operational. The board rule on written work authorization requires dentists to retain copies for two years, requires the form to include disinfection-method information, and requires a primary contractor that subcontracts work to create and keep duplicate authorization records for board inspection.
Oklahoma	Not found	Yes	Yes	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	High	Oklahoma is a real lab-permit state. Official board materials show dedicated dental-lab permits and verification pages, and the statute/rules compilation regulates both dental laboratory technicians and holders of permits to operate a dental laboratory; the act also recognizes fabrication under a dentist's laboratory prescription as permitted extraoral work.
Oregon	Yes	Limited	Yes	Not found	Yes	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	High	Oregon now has one of the more modern laboratory frameworks. Current law requires dental laboratories to register, defines "work order," bars work orders from permitting non-dentists to take impressions, and requires material-content disclosure to the prescribing dentist.
Pennsylvania	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	I did not surface a clean, current official primary statute page specifically focused on commercial dental laboratories during this session. The official Pennsylvania materials I could access centered on the Dental Law, board rules, and auxiliary supervision, not on a clearly defined lab-registration or technician chapter.
Rhode Island	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Rhode Island statute and rule pages retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensing or registration regime. Rhode Island appears to regulate laboratories indirectly through its general dentists/dental hygienists statute and corresponding rules rather than through a dedicated lab chapter in the accessible materials.
South Carolina	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	High	South Carolina is explicit about dental technicians. Its chapter is titled "Dentists, Dental Hygienists, and Dental Technicians," and the code defines dental technological and orthodontic technological work as extraoral construction, alteration, repair, relining, or duplication of prosthetic or orthodontic appliances.
South Dakota	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The South Dakota dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensure or registration regime. South Dakota appears to regulate laboratories through the broader dentists/hygienists/auxiliaries chapter and board rules rather than through a distinct lab statute in the materials I could access.
Tennessee	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Yes	Moderate	Tennessee's rules provide the clearest lab-compliance text available in the sources retrieved for this report. A written work order must accompany all dental laboratory work sent by a dentist to a commercial dental laboratory or private dental laboratory technician outside the physical confines of the dentist's office, and the dentist must keep a copy for two years.
Texas	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Moderate	Texas uses a written prescription/work-order model. The occupations-code text surfaced by official search indicates that fabrication of covered appliances without a written prescription or work order signed by a dentist is unlawful, which places commercial-lab work inside a dentist-authorization framework rather than an independent technician-practice model.
Utah	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Utah practice-act chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory licensing or registration regime. Utah appears to regulate lab work indirectly through the dentist and dental hygienist practice act and its implementing rule rather than through a dedicated lab chapter in the materials I could access.
Vermont	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	Limited	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	Low	The Vermont dentistry chapter retrieved for this report did not surface a separate commercial dental-laboratory license, registration, or technician-practice framework. Vermont appears to govern laboratories through the general dentistry statute and board rules rather than a distinct lab subchapter in the materials I could access.
Virginia	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	Yes	Limited	Yes	Moderate	Virginia expressly preserves the traditional laboratory carve-out by exempting the "performance of mechanical work on inanimate objects only, for licensed dentists," by persons employed in or operating a dental laboratory. The code also defines "digital work order" and now regulates a "digital scan technician," who must work under the direction of a Virginia-licensed dentist who is accessible during the patient interaction and responsible for board-approved training.
Washington	Yes	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Limited	Not found	No	Limited	High	Washington is one of the most comprehensive lab states. Separate chapter 70.352 requires dental laboratories doing business in Washington to register with the Department of Health, and WAC 246-817-330 requires dentists to submit a valid duplicate prescription for each patient's laboratory work; chapter 18.260 also recognizes laboratory duties within dental-assistant scope rules.
West Virginia	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Yes	Not found	No	Not found	High	West Virginia has a dedicated article titled "Dental Laboratory Services." It makes it unlawful for a dental laboratory to perform services without a dentist's work authorization, specifies the contents of that authorization, and requires denture identification for full upper or full lower prosthetic dentures. West Virginia is therefore a high-regulation state for laboratory work even though the lab article sits alongside the core practice-act article rather than inside it.
Wisconsin	Not found	Not found	Yes	Yes	Not found	Not found	Not found	Not found	No	Not found	High	Wisconsin requires written work authorizations in an official board form, requires the issuing dentist and the dental laboratory each to retain them for at least three years, and authorizes board inspection of those records. That makes Wisconsin another documentation-heavy state even though I did not confirm a separate laboratory licensure chapter in the core act retrieved for this report.
Wyoming	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Limited	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	Verify	An accessible official statute page was not surfaced in this session; the act link identified through the board directory resolves to a board-linked compilation. In the materials I could retrieve, I did not identify a separate commercial dental-laboratory license, registration, or work-order subchapter comparable to the stronger lab-regulation states.

¶ State Dental Practice Act Matrix

¶ Legend