| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
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 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); and |
|
|
(B) the dental hygienist: |
|
|
(i) holds a baccalaureate degree conferred |
|
|
by a college or university acceptable to the board or equivalent |
|
|
education determined by the board; |
|
|
(ii) has been licensed in good standing |
|
|
within the past year to administer local anesthetic agents: |
|
|
(a) by a branch of the United States |
|
|
armed forces; or |
|
|
(b) by another state; or |
|
|
(iii) has passed a certification |
|
|
examination approved by the board. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 262.002, Occupations Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) 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 supervision of a dentist; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(7) performs any other service, task, or procedure |
|
|
prescribed by board rule. |
|
|
(c) A dental hygienist may not establish an independent |
|
|
practice to provide services authorized by this subtitle. |
|
|
SECTION 3. (a) The State Board of Dental Examiners, not |
|
|
later than January 1, 2016, 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 is: |
|
|
(1) accredited by the Commission on Dental |
|
|
Accreditation of the American Dental Association; and |
|
|
(2) offered in a classroom setting at an educational |
|
|
institution. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |