STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9308--A
IN SENATE
May 10, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to permitting dental
assistants and licensed practical nurses to perform the application of
topical fluoride varnish
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 6608 of the education law, as amended by chapter
2 512 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 6608. Definition of practice of registered dental assisting. The
4 practice of registered dental assisting is defined as providing support-
5 ive services to a dentist in [his or her] such dentist's performance of
6 dental services authorized under this article. Such support shall
7 include providing patient education, taking preliminary medical histo-
8 ries and vital signs to be reviewed by the dentist, placing and removing
9 rubber dams, selecting and prefitting provisional crowns, selecting and
10 prefitting orthodontic bands, removing orthodontic arch wires and liga-
11 ture ties, placing and removing matrix bands, taking impressions for
12 study casts or diagnostic casts, removing periodontal dressings, placing
13 and removing temporary restorations, application of topical fluoride
14 varnish, and such other dental supportive services authorized by the
15 dentist consistent with regulations promulgated by the commissioner,
16 provided that such functions are performed under the direct personal
17 supervision of a licensed dentist in the course of the performance of
18 dental services. Such services shall not include diagnosing and/or
19 performing surgical procedures, irreversible procedures or procedures
20 that would alter the hard or soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial
21 area or any other procedures determined by the department. The practice
22 of registered dental assisting may be conducted in the office of any
23 licensed dentist or in any appropriately equipped school or public
24 institution but must be done under the direct personal supervision of a
25 licensed dentist. Direct personal supervision, for purposes of this
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11382-07-4
S. 9308--A 2
1 section, means supervision of dental procedures based on instructions
2 given by a licensed dentist in the course of a procedure who remains in
3 the dental office where the supportive services are being performed,
4 personally diagnoses the condition to be treated, personally authorizes
5 the procedures, and before dismissal of the patient, who remains the
6 responsibility of the licensed dentist, evaluates the services performed
7 by the registered dental assistant. Nothing herein authorizes a regis-
8 tered dental assistant to perform any of the services or functions
9 defined as part of the practice of dental hygiene in accordance with the
10 provisions of subdivision one of section sixty-six hundred six of this
11 article, except those functions authorized pursuant to this section. All
12 dental supportive services provided in this section may be performed by
13 currently registered dental hygienists either under a dentist's super-
14 vision, as defined in regulations of the commissioner, or, in the case
15 of a registered dental hygienist working for a hospital as defined in
16 article twenty-eight of the public health law, pursuant to a collabora-
17 tive arrangement with a licensed dentist in accordance with subdivision
18 one of section sixty-six hundred six of this article. Such collaborative
19 arrangement shall not obviate or supersede any law or regulation which
20 requires identified services to be performed under the personal super-
21 vision of a dentist.
22 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 6902 of the education law, as amended by
23 chapter 781 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
24 2. The practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse is defined as
25 performing tasks and responsibilities within the framework of casefind-
26 ing, health teaching, health counseling, the application of topical
27 fluoride varnish, and provision of supportive and restorative care under
28 the direction of a registered professional nurse or licensed physician,
29 dentist or other licensed health care provider legally authorized under
30 this title and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
31 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
