DENTAL ASST: SECOND PAIR OF HANDS H.B. 4718 (H-2):
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 4718 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Eileen Kowall
House Committee: Health Policy
Senate Committee: Health Policy
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to authorize a dental assistant to act as a "second pair of hands" for a dentist or dental hygienist.
Specifically, notwithstanding Section 16601(1)(f) or Board of Dentistry rules, a dental hygienist could use a dental assistant to act as his or her second pair of hands. (Under Section 16601(1)(f), "practice as a dental hygienist" means practice at the assignment of a dentist in that specific area of dentistry based on specialized knowledge, formal education, and skill with a particular emphasis on preventive services and oral health education.)
"Second pair of hands" would mean that term as defined in R 338.11101 of the Michigan Administrative Code. (Under that rule, the term means acts, tasks, functions, and procedures performed by a dental assistant, registered dental assistant, or registered dental hygienist at the direction of a dentist who is in the process of rendering dental services and treatment to a patient. The definition states that these acts, tasks, functions, and procedures are ancillary to the procedures performed by the dentist and intended to provide help and assistance at the time they are performed.)
Notwithstanding Section 16601(1)(e) or Board rules, a dental assistant could function as a second pair of hands for a dentist or dental hygienist if both of the following conditions were met:
-- The dentist or dental hygienist was actively performing services in the mouth of a patient at the time the dental assistant was assisting him or her.
-- If the dental assistant were assisting a dental hygienist, a supervising dentist had assigned the assistant to act as the hygienist's second pair of hands.
(Under Section 16601(1)(e), "practice as a dental assistant" means assistance in the clinical practice of dentistry based on formal education, specialized knowledge, and skill at the assignment and under the supervision of a dentist.)
The section the bill would add would not require new or additional third-party reimbursement or mandated worker's compensation benefits for services rendered by an individual licensed as a dental assistant or as a dental hygienist.
Proposed MCL 333.16626 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy