Sec. 256.0531. ALTERNATIVE DENTAL HYGIENE TRAINING PROGRAMS

(a) It is the intent of the legislature that programs approved by the board under this section provide hygiene training that is substantially equivalent to training provided under traditional programs.

(b) An alternative dental hygiene training program must meet the following requirements:

(1) the program must be determined to be eligible for accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association before students can enroll in the program;

(2) the program must require hygiene students to complete four semesters of didactic education from a school of dentistry, dental hygiene school, or other educational institution approved by the board;

(3) didactic education shall be provided by instruction in the classroom or by distance learning, remote coursework, or similar modes of instruction offered by an institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association;

(4) didactic education shall include instruction in anatomy, pharmacology, x-ray, ethics, jurisprudence, hygiene, and any other subject regularly taught in reputable schools of dentistry and dental hygiene that the board may require;

(5) the program must require hygiene students to complete not less than 1,000 hours of clinical training under the direct supervision of a dentist qualified under Subsection (d) or a dental hygienist qualified under Subsection (f) during a 12-month period. Students must satisfactorily complete 75 full-mouth prophylaxes and demonstrate the ability to accurately record the location and extent of dental restorations, chart mobility, furcations, gingival recession, keratinized gingiva, and pocket depth on six aspects of each tooth; and

(6) clinical training may occur simultaneously with didactic education.

(c) Prior to commencing training, a hygiene student must have completed no less than two years of full-time employment in a position involving clinical duties with dental patients.

(d) To be qualified to train a hygiene student under this section, a dentist must:

(1) be licensed in Texas and have practiced in Texas for at least five years;

(2) have completed a certification or calibration course approved by the board for purposes of this section;

(3) meet recertification requirements at intervals of no more than three years;

(4) also practice in a dental office located outside a standard metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, or practice in an area that the Texas Department of Health has determined is underserved or an area that has been designated by the United States as having a shortage of dental professionals; and

(5) have posted a notice visible to patients stating: "This practice has been approved as an alternative dental hygiene training program. Students in the program may be performing services."

(e) A hygiene student who completes the requirements of a program under this section must satisfactorily pass the examination required for all hygiene license applicants under this chapter.

(f) A dental hygienist may train hygiene students under this section if:

(1) the dental hygienist is employed by a dentist who provides training under this section and the hygienist works under the direct supervision of the dentist in the same office as the dentist;

(2) the dental hygienist has practiced full-time dental hygiene for the five years immediately preceding the time the training is provided; and

(3) the dental hygienist has completed a certification or calibration course approved by the board and meets recertification requirements at intervals of no more than five years.

(g) A dentist who supervises a dental hygienist trained under this section has the same liability for acts performed by the hygienist as if the hygienist were trained in a different manner.

(h) The board shall adopt an alternative dental hygiene training program no later than January 1, 2002.

(i) The board shall appoint an advisory committee to advise the board in developing the alternative dental hygiene training program. The advisory committee consists of the following members appointed by the board:

(1) two dental hygienists nominated by a statewide association of dental hygienists;

(2) two dentists nominated by a statewide association of dentists;

(3) two dental educators nominated by the State Board of Dental Examiners; and

(4) two dental hygienist educators nominated by the Dental Hygiene Advisory Committee to the State Board of Dental Examiners.

(j) In developing the program, the advisory committee shall consider the standards adopted by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

(k) A student in an alternative dental hygiene training program is not considered to be practicing dentistry as described by Section 251.003.

(l) The board shall adopt rules requiring the dentist to give written notice to patients, where applicable, that services will be performed by a student in an alternative dental hygiene training program, and requiring the dentist or the dentist's staff to give oral notice to patients, where applicable, at the time the patient's hygiene appointment is made or confirmed, that services will be performed by a student in an alternative dental hygiene training program.

(m) The board may adopt rules necessary to implement this section. The board shall adopt a rule requiring notification to dental hygiene students that accreditation of the alternative dental hygiene training program is a requirement for obtaining a license under this chapter.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1470, Sec. 3.02, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.