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                            CHAPTER 273-H.F.No. 1926 
                  An act relating to occupations; regulating the 
                  practice of dental hygiene; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1994, sections 150A.05; 150A.06, subdivision 
                  2; and 150A.10, subdivision 1. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 150A.05, is 
        amended to read: 
           150A.05 [LICENSED DENTAL PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY.] A 
        person shall be deemed to be practicing dentistry within the 
        meaning of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12: 
           (1) who uses a dental degree, or designation, or card, 
        device, directory, sign, or other media whereby the person 
        represents an ability to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or operate 
        for any disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, or 
        physical condition of the human tooth, teeth, alveolar process, 
        gums or jaw, or adjacent or associated structures; or 
           (2) who is a manager, proprietor, operator or conductor of 
        a place where dental operations are performed; or 
           (3) who performs dental operations of any kind 
        gratuitously, or for a fee, gift, compensation or reward, paid 
        or to be paid, to any person or agency; or 
           (4) who uses a roentgen or X-ray machine for dental 
        treatment, roentgenograms or for dental diagnostic purposes; or 
           (5) who extracts a human tooth or teeth, or corrects or 
        attempts to correct malpositions of the human teeth or jaws; or 
           (6) who offers and undertakes, by any means or method, to 
        diagnose, treat or remove stains or accretions from human teeth 
        or jaws; or 
           (7) who takes impressions of the human tooth, teeth, or 
        jaws or performs any phase of any operation incident to the 
        replacement of a part of a tooth, a tooth, teeth or associated 
        tissues by means of a filling, a crown, a bridge, a denture or 
        other appliance; or 
           (8) who furnishes, supplies, constructs, reproduces, or 
        repairs, or offers to furnish, supply, construct, reproduce or 
        repair prosthetic dentures or plates, bridges or other 
        substitutes for natural teeth, to the user or prospective user 
        thereof; or 
           (9) who performs any clinical operation included in the 
        curricula of recognized dental schools and colleges.  
           Subd. 1a.  [PRACTICE OF DENTAL HYGIENISTS.] A person shall 
        be deemed to be practicing as a dental hygienist within the 
        meaning of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12: 
           (1) who provides care that is educational, preventive, and 
        therapeutic through observation, assessment, evaluation, 
        counseling, and therapeutic services to establish and maintain 
        oral health; 
           (2) who evaluates patient health status through review of 
        medical and dental histories, assesses and plans dental hygiene 
        care needs, performs a prophylaxis including complete removal of 
        calciferous deposits, accretions and stains by scaling, 
        polishing, and performs root planing and debridement; 
           (3) who administers local anesthesia and nitrous oxide 
        inhalation analgesia; or 
           (4) who provides other related services as permitted by the 
        rules of the board. 
           Subd. 2.  [EXEMPTIONS AND EXCEPTIONS OF CERTAIN PRACTICES 
        AND OPERATIONS.] Sections 150A.01 to 150A.12 do not apply to: 
           (1) the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in any 
        branch of the armed services of the United States, the United 
        States Public Health Service, or the United States Veterans 
        Administration; 
           (2) the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or dental 
        assisting by undergraduate dental students, dental hygiene 
        students, and dental assisting students of the University of 
        Minnesota, schools of dental hygiene, or schools of dental 
        assisting approved by the board, when acting under the direction 
        and supervision of a licensed dentist or a licensed dental 
        hygienist acting as an instructor; 
           (3) the practice of dentistry by licensed dentists of other 
        states or countries while appearing as clinicians under the 
        auspices of a duly approved dental school or college, or a 
        reputable dental society, or a reputable dental study club 
        composed of dentists; 
           (4) the actions of persons while they are taking 
        examinations for licensure or registration administered or 
        approved by the board pursuant to sections 150A.03, subdivision 
        1, and 150A.06, subdivisions 1, 2, and 2a; 
           (5) the practice of dentistry by dentists and dental 
        hygienists licensed by other states during their functioning as 
        examiners responsible for conducting licensure or registration 
        examinations administered by regional and national testing 
        agencies with whom the board is authorized to affiliate and 
        participate under section 150A.03, subdivision 1, and the 
        practice of dentistry by the regional and national testing 
        agencies during their administering examinations pursuant to 
        section 150A.03, subdivision 1; 
           (6) the use of X-rays or other diagnostic imaging 
        modalities for making radiographs or other similar records in a 
        hospital under the supervision of a physician or dentist or by a 
        person who is credentialed to use diagnostic imaging modalities 
        or X-ray machines for dental treatment, roentgenograms, or 
        dental diagnostic purposes by a credentialing agency other than 
        the board of dentistry; or 
           (7) the service, other than service performed directly upon 
        the person of a patient, of constructing, altering, repairing, 
        or duplicating any denture, partial denture, crown, bridge, 
        splint, orthodontic, prosthetic, or other dental appliance, when 
        performed according to a written work order from a licensed 
        dentist in accordance with section 150A.10, subdivision 3. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 150A.06, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [DENTAL HYGIENISTS.] A person of good moral 
        character not already a licensed dental hygienist of this state, 
        who has graduated from an accredited high school or its 
        equivalent, and has submitted a dental hygiene program 
        established in an institution that is accredited by an 
        accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of 
        Education to offer college-level programs may apply for 
        licensure.  The dental hygiene program must provide a minimum of 
        two academic years of dental hygiene curriculum and be 
        accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on 
        Dental Accreditation.  The applicant must submit an application 
        and fee as prescribed by the board and the a diploma or 
        equivalent awarded to the person by a training school for dental 
        hygienists or its equivalent approved by the board, may be 
        examined by the board or by an agency pursuant to section 
        150A.03, subdivision 1, in a manner to test the applicant's 
        fitness to practice dental hygiene certificate of dental hygiene.
        Prior to being licensed, the applicant must pass the National 
        Board of Dental Hygiene Examination and a board approved 
        examination designed to determine the applicant's clinical 
        competency.  In the case of examinations conducted pursuant to 
        section 150A.03, subdivision 1, applicants may take the 
        examination before applying to the board for licensure.  Each 
        The applicant shall must also be examined on pass an 
        examination testing the applicant's knowledge of the laws of 
        Minnesota relating to the practice of dentistry and of the rules 
        of the board.  An applicant is ineligible to retake the clinical 
        examination required by the board after failing it twice until 
        further education and training are obtained as specified by the 
        board by rule.  A separate, nonrefundable fee may be charged for 
        each time a person applies.  An applicant who passes the 
        examination in compliance with subdivision 2b and meets all the 
        other requirements of the board shall be licensed as a dental 
        hygienist and supplied with a license by the board.  
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 150A.10, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [DENTAL HYGIENISTS.] Any licensed dentist, 
        public institution, or school authority may use the obtain 
        services of from a licensed dental hygienist.  Such licensed 
        dental hygienist may perform provide those services which are 
        educational, diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventive in nature 
        and are authorized by the board of dentistry defined in section 
        150A.05, subdivision 1a.  Such services shall not include the 
        establishment of a final diagnosis or treatment plan for a 
        dental patient.  Such services shall be performed provided under 
        supervision of a licensed dentist.  Any licensed dentist who 
        shall permit the performance of any dental service by a dental 
        hygienist other than those authorized by the board of dentistry, 
        shall be deemed to be violating the provisions of sections 
        150A.01 to 150A.12, and performance of any such unauthorized 
        dental service by a dental hygienist shall constitute a 
        violation of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12.  
           Sec. 4.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
           The revisor shall change the headnote to Minnesota 
        Statutes, section 150A.10, to read "ALLIED DENTAL PERSONNEL."  
           Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day after final enactment.
           Presented to the governor February 20, 1996 
           Signed by the governor February 21, 1996, 10:16 a.m.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes