TITLE: Relating to the regulation of the practice of dental hygiene.

SUMMARY: Relating to the regulation of the practice of dental hygiene.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the regulation of the practice of dental hygiene. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 258.001, Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 258.001. [IMPERMISSIBLE] DELEGATIONS. (a) A dentist may not delegate: (1) an act to an individual who, by board order, is prohibited from performing the act; (2) any of the following acts to a person not licensed as a dentist or dental hygienist: (A) the removal of calculus, deposits, or accretions from the natural and restored surfaces of exposed human teeth and restorations in the human mouth; (B) root planing or the smoothing and polishing of roughened root surfaces or exposed human teeth; or (C) any other act the delegation of which is prohibited by board rule; or (3) any of the following acts to a person not licensed as a dentist: (A) comprehensive examination or diagnosis and treatment planning; (B) a surgical or cutting procedure on hard or soft tissue; (C) the prescription of a drug, medication, or work authorization; (D) the taking of an impression for a final restoration, appliance, or prosthesis; (E) the making of an intraoral occlusal adjustment; (F) direct pulp capping, pulpotomy, or any other endodontic procedure; (G) the final placement and intraoral adjustment of a fixed or removable appliance; or (H) the placement of any final restoration.(b) A dentist may delegate [; or [(4) the authority] to an individual the authority to administer a local anesthetic agent, inhalation sedative agent, parenteral sedative agent, or general anesthetic agent if the individual is [not] licensed as: (1) [(A)] a dentist,with a permit issued by the board for the procedure being performed [] if a permit is required; (2) [(B)] a certified registered nurse anesthetist [licensed] by the Texas Board of Nursing, only if the delegating dentist holds a permit issued by the board for the procedure being performed [] if a permit is required; [or] (3) [(C)] a physician anesthesiologist [licensed] by the Texas Medical Board;or (4) a dental hygienist, only if: (A) the procedure is the administration of a local anesthetic agent under Section 262.002(a)(6); (B) the dental hygienist has passed a certification examination approved by the board; and (C) the dental hygienist: (i) has completed a course approved by the board to train dental hygienists to administer local anesthetic agents; or (ii) has been licensed in good standing within the preceding year to administer local anesthetic agents: (a) by a branch of the United States armed forces; or (b) by another state.SECTION 2. Section 262.002(a), Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) A person practices dental hygiene if the person: (1) removes accumulated matter, tartar, deposits, accretions, or stains, other than mottled enamel stains, from the natural and restored surface of exposed human teeth and restorations in the human mouth; (2) smoothes roughened root surfaces; (3) polishes exposed human teeth, restorations in the human mouth, or roughened root surfaces; (4) topically applies drugs to the surface tissues of the human mouth or the exposed surface of human teeth; (5) makes dental x-rays; [and] (6) administers intraoral block or infiltration anesthesia under the authorization and direct supervision of a dentist; and (7) performs any other service, task, or procedure prescribed by board rule. SECTION 3. (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the State Board of Dental Examiners shall: (1) prescribe by rule the requirements for a course to train dental hygienists to administer local anesthetic agents; and (2) develop a procedure for the approval of courses described by Subdivision (1) of this subsection. (b) A rule adopted under Subsection (a) of this section must require that a course be offered in a classroom setting at an educational institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.