81R1689 MSE-D
By: Crownover H.B. No. 168
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 the procedure is the
administration of a local anesthetic agent under Section
262.002(a)(6).
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 direct supervision as required by this subtitle
after completion of a board-approved course; 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, 2010, 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).
(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, 2009.