Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 60 - BOARD OF DENTISTRY › Chapter 30 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PRACTICE OF DENTAL ASSISTANTS › Part I - General Provision › Section 18VAC60-30-10 - 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:
"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 by the board to perform
					 reversible, intraoral procedures as specified in 18VAC60-30-60 and
					 18VAC60-30-70.
"Direct supervision" means that the dentist examines the
					 patient and records diagnostic findings prior to delegating restorative or
					 prosthetic treatment and related services to a dental assistant II for
					 completion the same day or at a later date. The dentist prepares the tooth or
					 teeth to be restored and remains immediately available in the office to the
					 dental assistant II for guidance or assistance during the delivery of treatment
					 and related services. The dentist examines the patient to evaluate the
					 treatment and services before the patient is dismissed.
"Direction" means the level of supervision (i.e.,
					 immediate, direct, indirect or general) that a dentist is required to exercise
					 with a dental hygienist, a dental assistant I, or a dental assistant II 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.
"Immediate supervision" means the dentist is in the
					 operatory to supervise the administration of sedation or provision of
					 treatment.
"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.
"Radiographs" means intraoral and extraoral radiographic
					 images of hard and soft tissues used for purposes of
					 diagnosis.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of
						Virginia.