187 Ga. 720 | Ga. | 1939
His Excellency, E. D. Rivers, as Governor, acting on behalf of the State of Georgia and on relation of the Fifth District Dental Society, instituted an action seeking to enjoin the Atlanta Southern Dental College, a corporation operating a clinic in connection with its college, from practicing dentistry. The jury found in favor of the defendant. The exception is to an order overruling the plaintiff’s motion for new trial, which contained the general grounds and two special grounds.
The ruling announced in the first headnote does not require elaboration.
It was sought to enjoin the Atlanta Southern Dental College (operating a clinic in connection with its college) from practicing dentistry, as defined by the statute. The ground of complaint was that the defendant was not authorized by law to engage in such practice. On the issue as to whether the acts complained of amounted to practice of dentistry the judge charged the jury: “I instruct you that there would be no fee, salary, or reward unless some corporate or private profit is made in the clinic. There would be no such unless the charge for supplies and so forth exceeded the actual outlay therefor; and in considering the actual outlay or cost, you could consider as a part thereof such items as materials, lights, electric current, water, laundrjq obsolescence and depreciation in building and equipment, heat, repairs, printing and stationery, clerks, janitors, maids, and such other things as are necessary in the conduct and operation of the clinic; provided of course that the amount of those charges in the total were for that, and not for other departments of the defendant company. Only the
The question arises as to the correctness of this charge. It is declared in the Code, § 84-701: “All persons who shall charge a fee or salary or any other reward, whether paid or unpaid to any one directly or indirectly, for operations or parts of operations of any kind in the treatment of diseases or lesions of the human teeth, mouth, gums or jaws, or extract teeth or attempt to correct the malposition thereof, or who shall fill or crown a human tooth or teeth, or do any operation whatsoever on the human tooth, or teeth, gums or jaws, or who shall make examination of any human tooth, teeth, gums or jaws, or take an impression thereof for the purpose of treating or operating upon the same, or who shall by any means whatsoever make it known or imply that he will do such operations, shall be held to be practicing dentistry. Proof of any one or all of the acts mentioned in this section shall constitute prima facie evidence of the practice of dentistry.” In the same chapter of the Code it is declared: “Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit regularly chartered dental colleges or dental departments of reputable colleges and universities from maintaining regular college clinics under the supervision of regularly licensed and registered demonstrators, nor shall this chapter prevent regularly licensed dental practitioners of other States and counties from giving climes before any dental society or association of this State whose
Lights, electric current, water, laundry, obsolescence and depreciation in building and equipment, heat, repairs, printing and stationery, clerks, maids, and the like, used by the practitioner in connection with his dental office, are incidental or overhead adjuncts, and the inclusion of one or more of these in charges for operations of any of the kinds specified in the act would bring the practice within the statutory definition. This applies whether the statutory definition be considered alone or in connection with the Code, § 84-722., Referring to this latter provision of the statute, it was well said (whether or not necessary to the decision actually rendered) in Boykin v. Atlanta, Southern Dental College, 177 Ga. 1, 5 (69 S. E. 361) : “Much stress is placed by counsel .for the
Judgment reversed.