H-1401.2  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1915

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Representatives Skinner, Murray, Thompson, Blalock, Cody and Costa

Read first time 02/13/97.  Referred to Committee on Health Care.

Removing regulatory barriers to the provision of oral health care services to rural, remote, and underserved populations.

    AN ACT Relating to removing regulatory barriers to the provision of oral health care services to rural, remote, and underserved populations; amending RCW 18.29.050 and 18.29.056; and repealing 1993 c 323 s 6 (uncodified).

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 18.29.050 and 1971 ex.s. c 235 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    Any person licensed as a dental hygienist in this state may remove deposits and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, may apply topical preventive or prophylactic agents, may polish and smooth restorations, may perform root planing and soft-tissue curettage, and may perform other dental operations and services delegated to them by a licensed dentist:  PROVIDED HOWEVER, That licensed dental hygienists shall in no event perform the following dental operations or services:

    (1) Any surgical removal of tissue of the oral cavity;

    (2) Any prescription of drugs or medications requiring the written order or prescription of a licensed dentist or physician;

    (3) Any diagnosis for treatment or treatment planning; or

    (4) The taking of any impression of the teeth or jaw, or the relationships of the teeth or jaws, for the purpose of fabricating any intra-oral restoration, appliance, or prosthesis.

    Such licensed dental hygienists may perform dental operations and services only under the supervision of a licensed dentist, and under such supervision may be employed by hospitals, boards of education of public or private schools, county boards, boards of health, or public or charitable institutions, or in dental offices((:  PROVIDED, That the number of hygienists so employed in any dental office shall not exceed twice in number the licensed dentists practicing therein)).

    Sec. 2.  RCW 18.29.056 and 1984 c 279 s 63 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Dental hygienists licensed under this chapter with two years' practical clinical experience with a licensed dentist within the preceding five years may be employed or retained by health care facilities to perform authorized dental hygiene operations and services without dental supervision, limited to removal of deposits and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, application of topical preventive or prophylactic agents, polishing and smoothing restorations, and performance of root planing and soft-tissue curettage, but shall not perform injections of anesthetic agents, administration of nitrous oxide, or diagnosis for dental treatment.  The performance of dental hygiene operations and services in health care facilities shall be limited to patients, students, and residents of the facilities.  For dental planning and dental treatment, dental hygienists shall refer patients to licensed dentists.

    (2) For the purposes of this section, "health care facilities" are limited to hospitals; nursing homes; home health agencies; group homes serving the elderly, handicapped, and juveniles; state-operated institutions under the jurisdiction of the department of social and health services or the department of corrections; and federal, state, and local public health facilities, community and migrant health centers, community clinics, and tribal clinics.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  1993 c 323 s 6 (uncodified) is repealed.

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