The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed a bill that expands the services dental assistants can perform.
House Bill 3934 allows dental assistants to work under the general supervision of a dentist to help dental hygienists with procedures hygienists are permitted to complete, according to a March 25 news release from the State of Oklahoma House of Representatives.
The bill removes language that permits dental assistants to help with procedures under the direct supervision of a dentist.
In addition, the legislation allows a patient of record to be established by teledentistry if the patient is physically located at the dental facility and the dentist is not readily available, as well as expands the list of recognized accrediting agencies.
State Rep. David Smith authored the bill with input from the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, the Oklahoma Dental Hygiene Association and the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry.
The bill passed the House with a 94-1 vote and now moves to the Oklahoma Senate, the release said.
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