BILL REQ. #:  S-0757.2 

Read first time 01/22/2003.   Referred to Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.

     AN ACT Relating to dental hygienists; and amending RCW 18.29.050.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 18.29.050 and 1997 c 37 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 place antimicrobials and antibiotics, 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.