Alabama Administrative Code › Title 270 - BOARD OF DENTAL EXAMINERS OF ALABAMA › Chapter 270-X-3 - DENTAL HYGIENISTS › Section 270-X-3-.04 - Alabama Dental Hygiene Program Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1)
			 Each applicant for the ADHP must be at least nineteen (19) years of age when
			 applying to begin training, of good moral character, free of communicable
			 diseases, a citizen of the United States or a person who is legally present in
			 the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government,
			 and must be a graduate of an accredited high school or hold a GED
			 certificate.
(2) Each ADHP student
			 must have had at least twenty-four (24) full months of full-time employment as
			 a dental assistant, or the equivalent of twenty-four (24) full months in
			 part-time employment within the three (3) years immediately preceding the
			 student's enrollment in the ADHP. That time must have been spent assisting a
			 dentist(s) and/or hygienist(s) at the chair. Full-time shall mean employment of
			 at least three and one-half (3-1/2) days or thirty (30) hours of Board approved
			 employment per week. Graduates of an approved school of dental assisting will
			 be given credit for such course on a formula determined by the Board.
(3) Each ADHP student must be employed full
			 time during the effective period of the training permit before being eligible
			 to take the dental hygiene licensure examinations specified by the Board. Full
			 time shall mean employment of at least three and one-half (3-1/2) days or
			 thirty (30) hours of Board approved employment per week with their primary
			 certified dentist instructor whose name appears on the training permit. "Board
			 approved employment" means employment that can provide the student the
			 opportunity to perform the types and quantities of procedures required by the
			 ADHP. Any dentist licensed and practicing dentistry full time in the State of
			 Alabama may be issued an "ADHP Instructor Certificate" upon completion of the
			 ADHP Instructor Certification Training and application to the Board of Dental
			 Examiners, which shall have the discretion to grant or deny such certification.
			 The issued certification shall be valid for three (3) years from the date of
			 issuance.
(4) ADHP students may
			 practice only under the direct supervision of the dentist whose name appears on
			 the training permit; however, another dentist employed in the same office who
			 is certified pursuant to this Rule may perform pre and post prophylactic
			 examinations of the ADHP student's patients.
(5) The closing date for accepting
			 applications for training permits for each year will be determined by the
			 ADHP.
(6) ADHP students are allowed
			 one transfer of their training permit per
course year
,
			 upon written request, and only upon approval by the ADHP or the Board. During
			 the period of the ADHP student training permit, should the student's employment
			 with their initial instructor-dentist be terminated, the student will be
			 allowed to continue in the program only if their employment was terminated for
			 a reason acceptable to the Board. Any ADHP student who fails to be employed or
			 supervised by an instructor certified dentist for more than sixty (60) days
			 during the course of the program shall be dismissed from the ADHP. An ADHP
			 student who has participated in the Alabama Dental Hygiene Program twice
			 unsuccessfully may apply to participate in the program a third time at the
			 discretion of the Board after two (2) years of continual full-time employment
			 as a dental assistant.
(7) Each
			 ADHP student must attend
every
academic instruction
			 session. A student who fails to attend any session of academic instruction is
			 no longer eligible for a training permit without consent of the Board, which
			 shall be at the Board's discretion. If an ADHP student misses any part of an
			 academic instruction session, the student must submit a written explanation of
			 the absence within five (5) business days of the absence to the Board office
			 for review and request permission to continue in the program.
(8) No dentist shall be permitted to train
			 more than one (1) ADHP student at a time.
(9) ADHP students who obtain training in the
			 ADHP must pay a fee in an amount fixed by the Board (this includes training
			 permit, education, and instructional materials fees), which must be enclosed
			 with the application. The education portion of the fee may be refunded only
			 within the first thirty (30) days of issuance and only at the Board's
			 discretion.
(10) Any instance of
			 dishonesty of any kind in any way related to the ADHP shall result in dismissal
			 from the program.
(11) The Board
			 may limit the number of participants to ensure adequate function and integrity
			 of the ADHP.
Author:
Alabama Board of Dental Examiners
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
				  1975
, §§
										34-9-26,
				  34-9-43.