Dalhousie case prompts new dentistry rules in N.S.

HALIFAX— The Facebook scandal at Dalhousie University has prompted legislation that would allow Nova Scotia’s regulatory body for dentists to set restrictions and conditions before granting licences, the province’s health minister said Wednesday.

The changes are at the request of the Provincial Dental Board of Nova Scotia following the controversy involving Dalhousie University’s dentistry school, Health Minister Leo Glavine said.

Glavine said current legislation only allows the board to grant or deny a full licence. “They wanted to have the ability as it is in other jurisdictions to be able to place restrictions on new entrants to the profession,” Glavine said.

The conditions could range from practising under supervision for a period of time to taking additional ethics courses.

Glavine said the legislation will be enacted immediately once it’s passed.

Dalhousie University suspended 13 fourth-year male dentistry students this year for being members of a Facebook page that contained sexually violent content about their female classmates.