{"id":573,"date":"2019-10-04T19:41:33","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T19:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"\/?page_id=573"},"modified":"2025-08-27T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T15:14:09","slug":"dental-records","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-resources\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Dental records"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1698696973333{margin-top: -40px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #009ba7 !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;white-text&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h1>Dental records<\/h1>\n<p><nav  aria-label=\"breadcrumb\"><ol class=\"breadcrumb\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BreadcrumbList\"><li class=\"breadcrumb-item active\" aria-current=\"page\" itemprop=\"itemListElement\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ListItem\"><span itemprop=\"name\">Home<\/span><meta itemprop=\"position\" content=\"1\"><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Some of the most-frequently asked questions the MDA receives have to do with the handling and disposal of dental records.<\/p>\n<p>An amended Michigan Public Health Code, effective Dec. 22, 2006, added new requirements governing the retention, destruction and transfer of all medical records. The 2006 amendments follow other significant regulation of medical records in recent years, including HIPAA (the Privacy Rule, effective April 14, 2003, and the Security Rule, effective April 20, 2005), as well as Michigan\u2019s Medical Records Access Act, which became effective April 1, 2004.<\/p>\n<h3>Dental Records: What You Must Know<\/h3>\n<p>What follows is the basic information you and your staff should be aware of. A question-and-answer section on dental records is also available in this section.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-management\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/what-you-must-know-about-dental-records\/\">What you Must Know About Dental Records<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Sample Forms and Policies<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sample-Dental-Records-Policy.doc\">Sample Policy for Protecting, Maintaining and Providing Access to Dental Records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dental-Record-Disposal-Authorization-Letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Notice\/Authorization to Destroy Dental Records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sample-Dental-Record-Transfer-Letter-and-Authorization.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Retiring Dentist Authorization to Transfer Records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Authorization-to-Release-Dental-Health-Info.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Authorization for Release of Dental\/Health Care Information<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.org\/resources\/practice\/practice-management\/documentation-patient-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ADA guidelines for documentation of patient records<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Most-asked questions about dental records<\/h3>\n<p>Both dentists and dental office staff frequently ask questions regarding dental records. Here are some answers to the most- asked questions \u2014 be sure to share this information with your dental team.<\/p>\n<p>The following frequently asked questions on dental records are organized by topic easier navigation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-management\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/ownership-of-records\/\">Ownership of records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-management\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/access-and-release-of-records\/\">Access and release of records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-resources\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/dental-record-retention\/\">Dental record retention<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-management\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/retirement-and-patient-records\/\">Retirement and patient records<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/practice-management\/legal-services\/dentistry-and-the-law\/dental-records\/disposal-of-dental-records\/\">Disposal of dental records<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div><h2 class=\"rounded\">Legal Columns on Dental Records<\/h2>\t<ul class=\"dpe-flexible-posts\">\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-18490\" class=\"post-18490 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-contracts legal_tags-agreements legal_tags-record-ownership\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/taking-records-when-leaving-a-practice\/\">Taking Records When Leaving a Practice<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/contracts\/\">contracts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/agreements\/\">agreements<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-ownership\/\">record ownership<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-15236\" class=\"post-15236 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-retention legal_tags-hipaa legal_tags-orthodontic-models legal_tags-statue-of-limitations\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/retaining-orthodontic-models\/\">Retaining Orthodontic Models<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/retention\/\">retention<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/hipaa\/\">HIPAA<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/orthodontic-models\/\">orthodontic models<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/statue-of-limitations\/\">statue of limitations<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-4230\" class=\"post-4230 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-billing-issues legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-debt-collection legal_tags-delinquent-account\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/providing-dental-records-to-patients-with-past-due-accounts-2\/\">Providing Dental Records to Patients with Past-Due Accounts<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/debt-collection\/\">debt collection<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/delinquent-account\/\">delinquent account<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1649\" class=\"post-1649 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-contracts legal_tags-agreements legal_tags-record-ownership\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/practice-break-ups-and-ownership-of-patient-records\/\">Practice Break-ups and Ownership of Patient Records<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/contracts\/\">contracts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/agreements\/\">agreements<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-ownership\/\">record ownership<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1668\" class=\"post-1668 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-email legal_tags-encryption\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/is-encryption-of-email-with-dental-record-information-required\/\">Is Encryption of Email with Dental Record Information Required?<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/email\/\">email<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/encryption\/\">encryption<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1671\" class=\"post-1671 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-practice-acquisition legal_tags-retention\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/record-retention-issues-following-the-acquisition-of-a-practice\/\">Record Retention Issues Following the Acquisition of a Practice<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/practice-acquisition\/\">practice acquisition<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/retention\/\">retention<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1674\" class=\"post-1674 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-record-copies legal_tags-radiographs legal_tags-dental-records\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/troubles-with-obtaining-a-copy-of-dental-records\/\">Troubles with Obtaining a Copy of Dental Records<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-copies\/\">record copies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/radiographs\/\">radiographs<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1690\" class=\"post-1690 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-record-content legal_tags-billing\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/should-billing-account-information-be-included-in-dental-records\/\">Should Billing\/Account Information be Included in Dental Records?<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/billing\/\">billing<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-content\/\">record content<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1691\" class=\"post-1691 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-record-content legal_tags-treatment-refusal\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/treatment-refusal-and-dental-record-documentation\/\">Treatment Refusal and Dental Record Documentation<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-content\/\">record content<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/treatment-refusal\/\">treatment refusal<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1696\" class=\"post-1696 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-email legal_tags-encryption legal_tags-hipaa\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/transmitting-dental-record-information-by-email\/\">Transmitting Dental Record Information by Email<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/email\/\">email<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/encryption\/\">encryption<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/hipaa\/\">HIPAA<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1688\" class=\"post-1688 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-retention legal_tags-statute-of-limitations\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/are-there-reasons-to-retain-dental-records-longer-than-10-years\/\">Are There Reasons to Retain Dental Records Longer than 10 Years?<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/retention\/\">retention<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/statute-of-limitations\/\">statute of limitations<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t<li id=\"post-1689\" class=\"post-1689 legal_articles type-legal_articles status-publish hentry legal_categories-dental-records legal_tags-dental-records legal_tags-record-content\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"title\"><h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/legal-article\/what-information-should-be-contained-in-dental-records\/\">What Information Should be Contained in Dental Records?<\/a><\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t\tTags: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/dental-records\/\">dental records<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/news-you-need\/legal_tags\/record-content\/\">record content<\/a>\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul><!-- .dpe-flexible-posts -->\n<\/div>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1698696973333{margin-top: -40px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #009ba7 !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;white-text&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text] Dental records [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Some of the most-frequently asked questions the MDA receives have to do with the handling and disposal of dental records. An amended Michigan Public Health Code, effective Dec. 22, 2006, added new requirements governing the retention, destruction and transfer of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":919,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-template-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Some of the most-frequently asked questions the MDA receives have to do with the handling and disposal of dental records.","_seopress_robots_index":"","protect_children":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-573","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-11-17 09:00:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23554,"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/573\/revisions\/23554"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michigandental.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}