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.