84R689 SLB-D
 
  By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 571
 
 
 
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.