(1) An expanded practice dental hygienist may render all services within the scope of practice of dental hygiene, as defined in ORS § 679.010, without the supervision of a dentist and as authorized by the expanded practice dental hygienist permit to:

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(a) Patients or residents of the following facilities or programs who, due to age, infirmity or disability, are unable to receive regular dental hygiene treatment:

(A) Nursing homes as defined in ORS § 678.710;

(B) Adult foster homes as defined in ORS § 443.705;

(C) Residential care facilities as defined in ORS § 443.400;

(D) Adult congregate living facilities as defined in ORS § 441.525;

(E) Mental health residential programs administered by the Oregon Health Authority;

(F) Facilities for persons with mental illness, as those terms are defined in ORS § 426.005;

(G) Facilities for persons with developmental disabilities, as those terms are defined in ORS § 427.005;

(H) Local correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities as those terms are defined in ORS § 169.005, regional correctional facilities as defined in ORS § 169.620, youth correction facilities as defined in ORS § 420.005, youth care centers as defined in ORS § 420.855, and Department of Corrections institutions as defined in ORS § 421.005; or

(I) Public and nonprofit community health clinics.

(b) Adults who are homebound.

(c) Students or enrollees of nursery schools and day care programs and their siblings under 18 years of age, Job Corps and similar employment training facilities, primary and secondary schools, including private schools and public charter schools, and persons entitled to benefits under the Women, Infants and Children Program.

(d) Patients in hospitals, medical clinics, medical offices or offices operated or staffed by naturopathic physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants or midwives.

(e) Patients whose income is less than the federal poverty level.

(f) Other populations that the Oregon Board of Dentistry determines are underserved or lack access to dental hygiene services.

(2) Unless different criteria for referral of a patient or resident to a dentist are included in an agreement described in subsection (3) of this section, at least once each calendar year, an expanded practice dental hygienist shall refer each patient or resident to a dentist who is available to treat the patient or resident.

(3) An expanded practice dental hygienist may render the services described in paragraphs (a) to (e) of this subsection to the patients described in subsection (1) of this section if the expanded practice dental hygienist has entered into an agreement in a format approved by the board with a dentist licensed under ORS Chapter 679. The agreement must set forth the agreed-upon scope of the dental hygienist’s practice with regard to:

(a) Administering local anesthesia;

(b) Administering temporary restorations with or without excavation;

(c) Prescribing prophylactic antibiotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs specified in the agreement;

(d) Performing interim therapeutic restoration after diagnosis by a dentist; and

(e) Referral parameters.

(4) This section does not authorize an expanded practice dental hygienist to administer nitrous oxide except under the indirect supervision of a dentist licensed under ORS Chapter 679.

(5) An expanded practice dental hygienist may assess the need for and appropriateness of sealants, apply sealants and write prescriptions for all applications of fluoride in which fluoride is applied or supplied to patients.

(6) An expanded practice dental hygienist must also procure all other permits or certificates required by the board under ORS § 679.250.

(7) As used in this section and ORS § 680.213, ‘interim therapeutic restoration’ means a direct provisional restoration placed to temporarily stabilize a tooth until a dentist subsequently diagnoses the need for further definitive treatment, and that:

(a) Consists of the removal of soft material from the tooth using only hand instrumentation and subsequent placement of an adhesive restorative material; and

(b) Does not require the administration of local anesthesia. [1997 c.251 § 3; 2001 c.592 § 1; 2005 c.52 § 1; 2007 c.70 § 306; 2007 c.379 § 3; 2009 c.582 § 4; 2009 c.595 § 1062; 2011 c.658 § 41; 2011 c.716 § 8; 2013 c.360 § 63; 2015 c.349 § 2; 2017 c.356 § 87; 2021 c.69 § 1]