STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3157 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 23, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to registered dental hygienists working without supervision but within a collaborative practice agreement with a licensed dentist The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6606 of the education law, as amended by chapter 2 244 of the laws of 1973, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 239 of the 3 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 6606. Definition of practice of dental hygiene. 1. The practice of 5 the profession of dental hygiene is defined as the performance of dental 6 services which shall include removing calcareous deposits, accretions 7 and stains from the exposed surfaces of the teeth which begin at the 8 epithelial attachment and applying topical agents indicated for a 9 complete dental prophylaxis, removing cement, placing or removing rubber 10 dam, removing sutures, placing matrix band, providing patient education, 11 applying topical medication, placing and exposing diagnostic dental 12 X-ray films, performing topical fluoride applications and topical anes- 13 thetic applications, polishing teeth, taking medical history, charting 14 caries, taking impressions for study casts, placing and removing tempo- 15 rary restorations, administering and monitoring nitrous oxide analgesia 16 and administering and monitoring local infiltration anesthesia, subject 17 to certification in accordance with section sixty-six hundred five-b of 18 this article, and any other function in the definition of the practice 19 of dentistry as may be delegated by a licensed dentist in accordance 20 with regulations promulgated by the commissioner. The practice of dental 21 hygiene may be conducted in the office of any licensed dentist or in any 22 appropriately equipped school or public institution but [must] shall be 23 done either under the supervision of a licensed dentist or[, in the case 24 of a registered dental hygienist working for a hospital as defined in EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01024-01-5
S. 3157 2 1 article twenty-eight of the public health law, pursuant to a collabora- 2 tive arrangement with a licensed and registered dentist who has a formal 3 relationship with the same hospital in accordance with regulations 4 promulgated by the department in consultation with the department of 5 health] may be performed by a registered dental hygienist designated as 6 a registered dental hygienist, collaborative practice in collaboration 7 with a licensed dentist provided such services are performed in accord- 8 ance with a written practice agreement and written practice protocols to 9 be known as a collaborative practice agreement. Under a collaborative 10 practice agreement, dental hygienists may perform all services which are 11 designated in regulation under general supervision without prior evalu- 12 ation of a dentist or medical professional and may be performed without 13 supervision in an authorized setting as defined in subdivision four of 14 this section. Such collaborative [arrangement] agreements shall not 15 obviate or supersede any law or regulation which requires identified 16 services to be performed under the personal supervision of a dentist. 17 [When dental hygiene services are provided pursuant to a collaborative 18 agreement, such dental hygienist shall instruct individuals to visit a 19 licensed dentist for comprehensive examination or treatment.] 20 2. The collaborative practice agreement shall: 21 (a) be signed and maintained by the dentist, the dental hygienist and 22 authorized setting; 23 (b) be reviewed annually by the dentist and dental hygienist; 24 (c) include consideration for medically compromised patients, specific 25 medical conditions, and age- and procedure-specific practice protocols, 26 including, but not limited to recommended intervals for the performance 27 of dental hygiene services and a periodicity in which an examination 28 by a dentist should occur; and 29 (d) be made available to the department and other interested parties 30 upon request. 31 3. Before performing services pursuant to a collaborative practice 32 agreement, a dental hygienist, collaborative practice shall provide the 33 patient with a written statement advising the patient that the dental 34 hygiene services provided are not a substitute for a dental examination 35 by a licensed dentist. If the dental hygienist makes any referrals to 36 the patient for further procedures, the dental hygienist shall fill out 37 a referral form and provide a copy of the form to the collaborating 38 dentist. 39 4. The performance of services pursuant to a collaborative agreement 40 is authorized in the following settings: a hospital as defined in arti- 41 cle twenty-eight of the public health law, an appropriately equipped 42 school, a federally qualified health center, a long-term care facility, 43 a group home servicing people with intellectual and developmental disa- 44 bilities, a facility serving veterans, a temporary housing facility, a 45 prison, a drug treatment facility, a domestic violence shelter, and 46 appropriate settings in which homebound residents are unable to be relo- 47 cated for necessary treatment. 48 5. A registered dental hygienist, collaborative practice shall have 49 no more than one collaborative agreement with a dentist at one time. 50 6. A dentist shall not have a collaborative agreement with more than 51 six registered dental hygienists, collaborative practice at one time. 52 The department may grant an exception to such limitation for public 53 health settings on a case-by-case basis. 54 7. A dental hygienist shall file an application with the department to 55 practice as a registered dental hygienist, collaborative practice and 56 pay a fee determined by the department. As a condition of collaborative
S. 3157 3 1 practice, the dental hygienist shall have been engaged in practice for 2 three years with a minimum of four thousand five hundred practice hours 3 and shall complete an eight-hour continuing education program that 4 includes instruction in medical emergency procedures, risk management, 5 dental hygiene jurisprudence and professional ethics. 6 8. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations defining the func- 7 tions a dental hygienist may perform that are consistent with the train- 8 ing and qualifications for a license as a dental hygienist. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect eighteen months after it shall have 10 become a law.