Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Regulates dental therapy and licensure of dental therapists.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the regulation of dental therapy, amending various parts of the statutory law, and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 7 of P.L.1951, c.199 (C.45:6-15.7) is amended to read as follows:
7. In every dental clinic operated, conducted or maintained in this State all dental operations shall be performed by a licensed dentist [or] , licensed hygienist, or licensed dental therapist in accordance with the provisions of Title 45, chapter six of the Revised Statutes.
(cf: P.L.1951, c.199, s.7)
2. Section 2 of P.L.1979, c.46 (C.45:6-49) is amended to read as follows:
2. For the purposes of this act:
a. "Board" means the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry.
b. "Registered dental assistant" means any person who has fulfilled the requirements for registration established by this act and who has been registered by the board. A registered dental assistant shall work under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist.
c. "Dental assistant" means any person who is trained by formal education or office internship to perform, under the direct supervision of a dentist, any routine office procedure, not including an intra-oral procedure, in the office of a dentist.
d. "Dental hygienist" means any person who performs in the office of any licensed dentist or in any appropriately equipped school, dental clinic, or institution under the supervision of a licensed dentist, those educational, preventive and therapeutic services and procedures which licensed dental hygienists are trained to perform, and which are specifically permitted by regulation of the board, and such intra-oral clinical services which are primarily concerned with preventive dental procedures, including, but not limited to, during the course of a complete prophylaxis, removing all hard and soft deposits and stains from the surfaces of the human teeth to the depth of the gingival sulcus, polishing natural and restored surfaces of teeth, applying indicated topical agents, surveying intra- and extra-oral structures, noting deformities, defects and abnormalities thereof, performing a complete oral prophylaxis and providing clinical instruction to promote the maintenance of dental health.
e. "Direct supervision" means acts performed in the office of a licensed dentist wherein he is physically present at all times during the performance of such acts and such acts are performed pursuant to his order, control and full professional responsibility.
f. "Supervision" means acts performed pursuant to a dentist's written order, control and full professional responsibility, whether or not he is physically present.
g. "Limited registered dental assistant" means any person who has fulfilled the requirements for registration established by this amendatory and supplementary act and who has been registered by the board. A limited registered dental assistant shall be limited to working under the direct supervision of a dentist who conducts a limited dental practice in the dental specialty for which the assistant has been trained and registered, and in performing those intra-oral procedures as defined by the board which are involved in that specialty.
h. "Dental clinic" means dental clinic as defined in section 1 of P.L.1951, c.199 (C.45:6-15.1).
i. "Institution" means any nursing home, veterans' home, hospital or prison, or any State or county facility providing inpatient care, supervision and treatment for persons with developmental disabilities.
j. Practice of dental therapy means the performance of educational, preventive and therapeutic services through one or more of the following practices and procedures: identification of oral and systemic conditions requiring evaluation or treatment by dentists, physicians or other health care providers, and management of referrals to dentists, physicians and other health care providers; diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases and conditions that are within the dental therapist scope of practice; comprehensive charting of the oral cavity; oral health instruction and disease prevention education, including nutritional counseling and dietary analysis; dispensing and administering of nonnarcotic analgesics and anti-inflammatory and antibiotic medications as prescribed by a licensed health care provider, except schedule II, III or IV controlled substances; applying topical preventive or prophylactic agents, including fluoride varnish, antimicrobial agents and pit and fissure sealants; pulp vitality testing; applying desensitizing medication or resin in the oral cavity; interim therapeutic restorations; fabricating athletic mouth guards; changing periodontal dressings; administering local anesthetics in the oral cavity under the general supervision of a dentist; simple extraction of erupted primary teeth; nonsurgical extraction of periodontally diseased permanent teeth with tooth mobility of three or greater, except a tooth that is unerupted, impacted, fractured or needs to be sectioned for removal; emergency palliative treatment of dental pain; preparation and placement of direct restoration in primary and permanent teeth that does not require the fabrication of crowns, bridges, veneers or dentures; fabrication and placement of single-tooth temporary crowns; preparation and placement of preformed crowns on primary teeth; indirect and direct pulp capping on permanent teeth; indirect pulp capping on primary teeth; dental suture removal; minor adjustments and repairs on removable prostheses; placement and removal of space maintainers; and recementing permanent crowns.
Collaborative agreement means a written agreement between a dental therapist and a dentist licensed pursuant to chapter 379 of the general statutes, that defines the working relationship between the dental therapist and the dentist and the parameters of the practice of dental therapy.