Sec. 5. (a) A dental hygienist who meets the following requirements may provide preventive dental hygiene services directly to a patient without a prior examination, presence, or authorization of the access practice dentist:

(1) The dental hygienist is licensed under IC 25-13-1.

Terms Used In Indiana Code 25-13-3-5

  • access practice agreement: means an agreement that:

    Indiana Code 25-13-3-2

  • access practice dentist: means a licensed dentist who is licensed under IC 25-14 and has entered into an access practice agreement under this chapter with a dental hygienist. See Indiana Code 25-13-3-3
  • Dental hygienist: means one who is especially educated and trained in the science and art of maintaining the dental health of the individual or community through prophylactic or preventive measures applied to the teeth and adjacent structures. See Indiana Code 25-13-1-2
  • Direct supervision: means that a licensed dentist is physically present in the facility when patient care is provided by the dental hygienist. See Indiana Code 25-13-1-2
  • Licensed dentist: refers to a dentist licensed under IC 25-14. See Indiana Code 25-13-1-2
(2) The dental hygienist has at least two thousand (2,000) documented clinical hours of dental hygiene services during two (2) years of active practice under the direct supervision of a dentist.

(3) The dental hygienist has entered into an access practice agreement that meets the requirements under section 6 of this chapter with a licensed dentist.

(4) The dental hygienist maintains liability insurance that meets the requirements under section 10 of this chapter.

(5) Before providing dental hygiene services to a patient under an access practice agreement, the dental hygienist has obtained a signed consent form that includes the information under section 11 of this chapter.

(6) The dental hygienist has met any other requirements of this chapter.

     (b) A dental hygienist who meets the requirements under subsection (a) and has provided preventive dental hygiene services directly to a patient under an access practice agreement may not perform subsequent therapeutic procedures on the patient under an access practice agreement until after the access practice dentist has performed a clinical evaluation of the patient.

As added by P.L.30-2018, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.90-2019, SEC.13.

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