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Texas Occupations Code - OCC § 258.001. Impermissible Delegations

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

A dentist may not delegate:

(1) an act to an individual who, by board order, is prohibited from performing the act;

(2) any of the following acts to a person not licensed as a dentist or dental hygienist:

(A) the removal of calculus, deposits, or accretions from the natural and restored surfaces of exposed human teeth and restorations in the human mouth;

(B) root planing or the smoothing and polishing of roughened root surfaces or exposed human teeth;  or

(C) any other act the delegation of which is prohibited by board rule;

(3) any of the following acts to a person not licensed as a dentist:

(A) comprehensive examination or diagnosis and treatment planning;

(B) a surgical or cutting procedure on hard or soft tissue;

(C) the prescription of a drug, medication, or work authorization;

(D) the taking of an impression for a final restoration, appliance, or prosthesis;

(E) the making of an intraoral occlusal adjustment;

(F) direct pulp capping, pulpotomy, or any other endodontic procedure;

(G) the final placement and intraoral adjustment of a fixed or removable appliance;  or

(H) the placement of any final restoration;

(4) the authority to an individual to administer a local anesthetic agent, inhalation sedative agent, parenteral sedative agent, or general anesthetic agent, including as a teledentistry dental service as that term is defined by Section 111.001, if the individual is not licensed as:

(A) a dentist with a permit issued by the board for the procedure being performed, if a permit is required;

(B) a certified registered nurse anesthetist licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing, only if the delegating dentist holds a permit issued by the board for the procedure being performed, if a permit is required;  or

(C) a physician anesthesiologist licensed by the Texas Medical Board;  or

(5) the authority to a dental hygienist to administer a local anesthetic agent unless:

(A) the dental hygienist:

(i) administers the local anesthetic agent by infiltration for purposes of a procedure the dental hygienist is authorized to perform;

(ii) has passed a board-approved certification examination relating to the administration of a local anesthetic agent;

(iii) either:

(a) has completed a board-approved course of study designed to train dental hygienists to administer a local anesthetic agent by infiltration;  or

(b) during the preceding year, was authorized to administer a local anesthetic agent by:

(1) a branch of the United States armed forces; or

(2) another state with clinical and didactic education requirements substantially equivalent to the requirements of a course approved by the board under Sub-subparagraph (a);  and

(iv) complies with any applicable rules adopted by the board establishing minimum standards for the administration of a local anesthetic agent;

(B) the delegating dentist is physically present in the facility where the procedure is occurring and is continuously aware of the patient's physical status and well-being;  and

(C) the patient to whom the local anesthetic agent is administered is:

(i) at least 18 years of age;  and

(ii) not sedated, or is sedated using only nitrous oxide-oxygen inhalation.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Texas Occupations Code - OCC § 258.001. Impermissible Delegations - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/occupations-code/occ-sect-258-001/

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