S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8533--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 9, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- 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 the practice of dental
   assisting

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.   Section 6608 of the education law, as amended by chapter
 390 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   § 6608. Definition of practice of  registered  dental  assisting.  The
 practice of registered dental assisting is defined as providing support-
 ive  services  to a dentist in his or her performance of dental services
 authorized under this article.  Such  support  shall  include  providing
 patient  education, taking preliminary medical histories and vital signs
 to be reviewed by the dentist, placing and removing rubber dams, select-
 ing and prefitting provisional crowns, selecting and  prefitting  ortho-
 dontic bands, removing orthodontic arch wires and ligature ties, placing
 and  removing  matrix bands, taking impressions for study casts or diag-
 nostic casts,  removing  periodontal  dressings,  PLACING  AND  REMOVING
 TEMPORARY  RESTORATIONS,  and  such  other  dental  supportive  services
 authorized by the dentist consistent with regulations promulgated by the
 commissioner, provided that  such  functions  are  performed  under  the
 direct  personal  supervision of a licensed dentist in the course of the
 performance of dental services. Such services shall not include diagnos-
 ing and/or performing surgical procedures,  irreversible  procedures  or
 procedures  that  would  alter  the  hard or soft tissue of the oral and
 maxillofacial area or any other procedures determined by the department.
 The practice of registered dental assisting  may  be  conducted  in  the
 office  of  any licensed dentist or in any appropriately equipped school
 or public institution but must be done under the direct personal  super-
 vision  of a licensed dentist. Direct personal supervision, for purposes
 of this  section,  means  supervision  of  dental  procedures  based  on
 instructions  given  by  a licensed dentist in the course of a procedure
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14651-02-2
 S. 8533--A                          2
 
 who remains in the dental office where the supportive services are being
 performed, personally diagnoses the condition to be treated,  personally
 authorizes  the  procedures,  and  before  dismissal of the patient, who
 remains  the  responsibility  of  the  licensed  dentist,  evaluates the
 services performed by the registered dental  assistant.  Nothing  herein
 authorizes  a registered dental assistant to perform any of the services
 or functions defined as part  of  the  practice  of  dental  hygiene  in
 accordance  with  the provisions of subdivision one of section sixty-six
 hundred six of this article, except those functions authorized  pursuant
 to this section. All dental supportive services provided in this section
 may  be performed by currently registered dental hygienists either under
 a dentist's supervision, as defined in regulations of the  commissioner,
 or,  in the case of a registered dental hygienist working for a hospital
 as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law, pursuant to
 a collaborative arrangement with a licensed dentist in  accordance  with
 subdivision  one  of section sixty-six hundred six of this article. Such
 collaborative arrangement shall not obviate  or  supersede  any  law  or
 regulation  which requires identified services to be performed under the
 personal supervision of a dentist.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.