Legislation and Rule Watch

 

The 133rd Ohio General Assembly will be seated on January 7 and will kick off the next legislative session.  We will monitor bill introductions and post legislation of interest here.

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Teledentistry.  Prior to adjourning in December, the 132nd General Assembly passed legislation establishing teledentistry in Ohio and making slight changes to the EFDA scope of practice.  Originally passed by the House as House Bill 184,  the legislation was amended into another bill at the end of the session, passed and enacted.  The governor signed the bill on December 21 and it takes effect on February 18, 2019.

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The provisions of HB 259 that apply to EFDAs:

 

• Authorizes provision of dental services through teledentistry, defined as the delivery of dental services through the use of synchronous, real-time communication and the delivery of services by a dental hygienist or EFDA pursuant to a dentist's authorization.

 

• Authorizes a dental hygienist or EFDA to perform additional services for an unlimited period of time when a supervising dentist is not physically present.  Current law allows only fifteen consecutive business days.

 

• Reduces to one year and 1,500 hours the experience required before a dental assistant or EFDA is authorized to provide certain services when the supervising dentist is not physically present.  The current requirements are two years and 3,000 hours.

 

• Authorizes a dental hygienist or EFDA to apply silver diamine fluoride after a dentist's examination if the dentist has diagnosed a need for the treatment and the hygienist or EFDA completed a related Dental Board-approved course. 

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• The authorized services an EFDA can perform in a teledentistry setting:

 

(1) Application of pit and fissure sealants; 

(2) Recementation of temporary crowns or recementation of crowns with temporary cement; 

(3) Application of topical fluoride; 

(4) Application of fluoride varnish; 

(5) Application of disclosing solutions; 

(6) Application of desensitizing agents, except for silver diamine fluoride, which is subject to the requirements in (9), below; 

(7) Caries susceptibility testing; 

(8) Instruction on oral hygiene home care, including the use of toothbrushes and dental floss; and 

(9) Application of silver diamine fluoride, but only after an EFDA's supervising dentist has examined the patient, diagnosed the need for the treatment, and the EFDA has completed a related course approved by the Dental Board.

 

• Removes a requirement that the supervising dentist must have examined the patient not more than one year prior to the date the EFDA is providing the services. 

 

Any dentist that wishes to provide services via teledentistry must obtain certification by the Dental Board.                   

              

Action Alerts

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None at this time.  Check back soon.

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