COMPOSITION OF EXPERT PANELS

(a) The board by rule shall provide for expert panels appointed by the board to assist with complaints and investigations relating to professional competency by acting as expert dentist and dental hygienist reviewers. (b) Each member of the expert dentist panel must be licensed to practice dentistry in this state. Each member of the expert dental hygienist panel must be licensed to practice dental hygiene in this state. (c) The rules adopted under this section must include provisions governing the composition of the panel, qualifications for membership on the panel, length of time a member may serve on the panel, grounds for removal from the panel, the avoidance of conflicts of interest, including situations in which the affected license holder and the panel member live or work in the same geographical area or are competitors, and the duties to be performed by the panel. (d) The board's rules governing grounds for removal from the panel must include providing for the removal of a panel member who is repeatedly delinquent in reviewing complaints and in submitting reports to the board.