Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 60 - BOARD OF DENTISTRY › Chapter 25 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PRACTICE OF DENTAL HYGIENE › Part I - General Provision › Section 18VAC60-25-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The following
				  words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to
				  them in §
										54.1-2700 of the Code of
				  Virginia:
"Board"
"Dental hygiene"
"Dental hygienist"
"Dentist"
"Dentistry"
"License"
B. The following words and terms when used in
				  this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly
				  indicates otherwise:
"Active practice" means clinical practice as a dental
					 hygienist for at least 600 hours per year.
"ADA" means the American Dental Association.
"Analgesia" means the diminution or elimination of pain in
					 the conscious patient.
"CDAC" means the Commission on Dental Accreditation of
					 Canada.
"CODA" means the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the
					 American Dental Association.
"Code" means the Code of Virginia.
"Dental assistant I" means any unlicensed person under the
					 direction of a dentist or a dental hygienist who renders assistance for
					 services provided to the patient as authorized under this chapter but shall not
					 include an individual serving in purely an administrative, secretarial, or
					 clerical capacity.
"Dental assistant II" means a person under the direction
					 and direct supervision of a dentist who is registered to perform reversible,
					 intraoral procedures as specified in
					 18VAC60-21-150 and
					 18VAC60-21-160.
"Direction" means the level of supervision (i.e., direct,
					 indirect, or general) that a dentist is required to exercise with a dental
					 hygienist or that a dental hygienist is required to exercise with a dental
					 assistant to direct and oversee the delivery of treatment and related
					 services.
"General supervision" means that a dentist completes a
					 periodic comprehensive examination of the patient and issues a written order
					 for hygiene treatment that states the specific services to be provided by a
					 dental hygienist during one or more subsequent appointments when the dentist
					 may or may not be present. Issuance of the order authorizes the dental
					 hygienist to supervise a dental assistant performing duties delegable to dental
					 assistants I.
"Indirect supervision" means the dentist examines the
					 patient at some point during the appointment and is continuously present in the
					 office to advise and assist a dental hygienist or a dental assistant who is (i)
					 delivering hygiene treatment, (ii) preparing the patient for examination or
					 treatment by the dentist, or (iii) preparing the patient for dismissal
					 following treatment.
"Inhalation" means a technique of administration in which a
					 gaseous or volatile agent, including nitrous oxide, is introduced into the
					 pulmonary tree and whose primary effect is due to absorption through the
					 pulmonary bed.
"Inhalation analgesia" means the inhalation of nitrous
					 oxide and oxygen to produce a state of reduced sensibility to pain without the
					 loss of consciousness.
"Local anesthesia" means the elimination of sensation,
					 especially pain, in one part of the body by the topical application or regional
					 injection of a drug.
"Monitoring" means to observe, interpret, assess, and
					 record appropriate physiologic functions of the body during sedative procedures
					 and general anesthesia appropriate to the level of sedation as provided in Part
					 VI (18VAC60-21-260 et seq.) of
					 Regulations Governing the Practice of Dentistry.
"Nonsurgical laser" means a laser that is not capable of
					 cutting or removing hard tissue, soft tissue, or tooth structure.
"Parenteral" means a technique of administration in which
					 the drug bypasses the gastrointestinal tract (i.e., intramuscular, intravenous,
					 intranasal, submucosal, subcutaneous, or intraocular).
"Remote supervision" means that a supervising dentist is
					 accessible and available for communication and consultation with a dental
					 hygienist during the delivery of dental hygiene services but such dentist may
					 not have conducted an initial examination of the patients who are to be seen
					 and treated by the dental hygienist and may not be present with the dental
					 hygienist when dental hygiene services are being provided. For the purpose of
					 practice by a public health dental hygienist, "remote supervision" means that a
					 public health dentist has regular, periodic communications with a public health
					 dental hygienist regarding patient treatment, but such dentist may not have
					 conducted an initial examination of the patients who are to be seen and treated
					 by the dental hygienist and may not be present with the dental hygienist when
					 dental hygiene services are being provided.
"Topical oral anesthetic" means any drug, available in
					 creams, ointments, aerosols, sprays, lotions, or jellies, that can be used
					 orally for the purpose of rendering the oral cavity insensitive to pain without
					 affecting consciousness.
Statutory Authority: §
												54.1-2400 of the Code of
						Virginia.