6608 - Definition of practice of certified dental assisting. - New York Statutes

§ 6608. Definition of practice of certified dental assisting. The practice of certified dental assisting is defined as providing supportive services to a dentist in his/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, selecting and prefitting provisional crowns, selecting and prefitting orthodontic bands, removing orthodontic arch wires and ligature ties, placing and removing matrix bands, taking impressions for study casts or diagnostic casts, removing periodontal dressings, 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 diagnosing 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 certified 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 supervision 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 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 dental assistant. Nothing herein authorizes a 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 under a dentist's supervision, as defined in regulations of the commissioner.