87R3088 JCG-D
 
  By: Klick H.B. No. 2348
 
 
 
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 the authority 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);
                     (B)  the dental hygienist has passed a
  certification examination approved by the board; and
                     (C)  the dental hygienist:
                           (i)  has completed a course approved by the
  board to train dental hygienists to administer local anesthetic
  agents; or
                           (ii)  has been licensed in good standing
  within the preceding year to administer local anesthetic agents:
                                 (a)  by a branch of the United States
  armed forces; or
                                 (b)  by another state.
         SECTION 2.  Section 262.002(a), Occupations Code, is amended
  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 direct supervision of a
  dentist; and
               (7)  performs any other service, task, or procedure
  prescribed by board rule.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Not later than January 1, 2022, the State
  Board of Dental Examiners 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 be offered in a classroom setting at an
  educational institution accredited by the Commission on Dental
  Accreditation of the American Dental Association.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.