Dentistry Corporations

• Business Corporations Act
• Health Professions Act
• BCCOHP Bylaws
• Checklist for Rearrangement of Office Procedures Upon Incorporation of a Professional Dental Practice

Any time a dentist or dental practice uses a name that is not their registered legal name, they are using a trade name. The College does not require registrants to seek approval of trade names for dental practices. 

BC Corporate Registry request for consent

The College will provide consent to requests from the BC Corporate Registry regarding trade names based on two criteria:

1. The applicant is a registrant and entitled to use dentistry-related words in the trade name; and
2. The trade name is in compliance with BCCOHP’s Bylaws (PDF)*.

*Since a trade name is considered to be a form of advertising and promotional activity, it must comply with BCCOHP’s Code of Ethics (PDF) and BCCOHP’s Bylaws.

Billing under a trade name

Patients should not be billed for dental services under the trade name alone – the dentist’s proper name or the dental corporation name should be clearly indicated on all invoices.

Practice facility signage

All dentists are required to conspicuously display their proper name or if applicable, their dental corporation name, on a sign at their practice. This is particularly important in group practice settings to ensure the public can easily identify the dentists who provide services at the practice. A trade name should not be used on its own to conduct the practice of dentistry.

Incorporating?

Read the instructions above for dentists intending to practise under a corporation name.

A PDF version of this document can be found here.

Health Profession Corporations and registrants who practise dentistry through them are directly subject to certain specific statutory obligations and restrictions under Part 4 of the Health Professions Act (HPA), including:

• the requirements under section 42 (2) of the HPA that services of dentistry only be provided by the corporation through dentists or employees (including contractors under supervision of a dentist (as further clarified under section 11.07 of the Bylaws);
• the prohibition under section 45 of the HPA against carrying on any income-generating business activities through the corporation other than the practice of dentistry;
• the prohibitions under section 46 of the HPA against certain voting agreements;
• the provisions of section 44 of the HPA and section 06 of the Bylaws for permit revocation hearings if the corporation commits professional misconduct, breaches section 45, or ceases to comply with a permit requirement under section 43 (1);
• the requirements and restrictions under section 4 of the Bylaws with respect to disposition of shares; and
• the requirement under section 11.05 (2) of the Bylaws to notify the Registrar of any changes in the information contained in its Certificate of Solicitor.

Section 14.1 of the HPA also now specifically confirms that registrants who practise through a dental corporation are not shielded from personal liability for professional negligence, or from the applicability to them of the requirements of the HPA, Dentists Regulation, and BCCOHP’s Bylaws.

Registrants who are shareholders of a corporation will also be required to provide BCCOHP with an executed copy of the Dentist Acknowledgment of Shareholder confirming that they understand this.

With respect to the Dentist Application for Approval of Health Profession Corporation Name, please note that we have included spaces to fill in the names of all dentists who are, or will be, either voting or non-voting shareholders of the corporation, as that information is needed to determine if the name complies with all requirements in the Bylaws.