1) State Boards of Dentistry have a responsibility to protect the public from misleading advertising of specialty expertise by dentists who are not adequately trained and experienced in the advertised specialty.

2) Endodontists have completed two or more years of training beyond dental school. This training distinguishes endodontists from general dentists in the following ways: 
-Endodontists are experts in diagnosis, treatment and relief of oral and facial pain;  
-Endodontists have specialized training in administering anesthesia; 
-Endodontists are trained in and used advanced technology, such as operating microscopes, rotary instrumentation, digital radiography, cone beam computed tomography; and  
-Endodontists use microsurgical techniques to improve patient comfort and save natural teeth.

3) Completion of weekend courses or even a few hundred hours of specialty training does not equate with the long term comprehensive education and training received by specialists. Deregulation of specialty advertising poses a danger to the public in that it would allow for specialty claims by dentists based on inadequate training. 

4) The Virginia State Dental Board should define what it regards as the minimum training and experience that dentists should have in order to claim themselves as specialists, rather than removing itself from this issue.