A. Applicants for licensure shall have graduated and received a degree from an accredited dental hygiene educational program that provides a minimum of two academic years of dental hygiene curriculum and is a post-secondary educational institution accredited by the joint commission on dental accreditation and shall have passed the written portion of the dental hygiene examination administered by the joint commission on national dental examinations of the American dental association or, if this test is not available, another written examination determined by the committee.

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B. Applicants for licensure by examination shall be required, in addition to the requirements set forth in Subsection A of this section, to pass a written examination covering the laws and rules for practice in New Mexico. Each written examination shall be supplemented by a practical or clinical examination administered by the committee or its agents that reasonably tests the applicant’s qualifications to practice as a dental hygienist. Upon an applicant passing the written and clinical examinations, the board, upon recommendation of the committee, shall issue a license to practice as a dental hygienist.

C. The board, upon the committee’s recommendation, shall issue a license to practice as a dental hygienist by credentials without examination, including practical or clinical examination, to an applicant who is a duly licensed dental hygienist by examination under the laws of another state or territory of the United States and whose license is in good standing for the two previous years in that jurisdiction and if the applicant otherwise meets all other requirements of the Dental Health Care Act, including payment of appropriate fees and passing an examination covering the laws and rules pertaining to practice as a dental hygienist in New Mexico.