Section 4715.39 | Permitted duties.

• Effective: December 29, 2023
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 131 - 134th General Assembly

(A) The state dental board may define the duties that may be performed by dental assistants and other individuals designated by the board as qualified personnel. If defined, the duties shall be defined in rules adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The rules may include training and practice standards for dental assistants and other qualified personnel. The standards may include examination and issuance of a certificate. If the board issues a certificate, the recipient shall display the certificate in a conspicuous location in any office in which the recipient is employed to perform the duties authorized by the certificate.

(B) A dental assistant may polish the clinical crowns of teeth if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The dental assistant's polishing activities are limited to the use of a rubber cup attached to a slow-speed rotary dental hand piece to remove soft deposits that build up over time on the crowns of teeth.

(2) The polishing is performed only after a dentist has evaluated the patient and any calculus detected on the teeth to be polished has been removed by a dentist or dental hygienist.

(3) The dentist supervising the assistant supervises not more than two dental assistants engaging in polishing activities at any given time.

(4) The dental assistant is certified by the dental assisting national board, the Ohio commission on dental assistant certification, or the American medical technologists.

(5) The dental assistant receives a certificate from the board authorizing the assistant to engage in the polishing activities. The board shall issue the certificate if the individual has successfully completed training in the polishing of clinical crowns through a program accredited by the American dental association commission on dental accreditation or equivalent training approved by the board. The training shall include courses in basic dental anatomy and infection control, followed by a course in coronal polishing that includes didactic, preclinical, and clinical training; any other training required by the board; and a skills assessment that includes successful completion of standardized testing. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to division (A) of this section establishing standards for approval of this training.

The board shall issue a certificate to engage in polishing activities in accordance with Chapter 4796. of the Revised Code to a dental assistant if either of the following applies:

(a) The applicant holds a license or certificate to engage in polishing activities in another state.

(b) The applicant has satisfactory work experience, a government certification, or a private certification as described in that chapter in polishing activities in a state that does not issue that license or certificate.

(C) A dental assistant may apply pit and fissure sealants if all of the following requirements are met:

(1) A dentist evaluates the patient and designates the teeth and surfaces that will benefit from the application of sealant on the day the application is to be performed.

(2) The dental assistant is certified by the dental assisting national board, the Ohio commission on dental assistant certification, or the American medical technologists.

(3) The dental assistant has successfully completed a course in the application of sealants consisting of at least two hours of didactic instruction and six hours of clinical instruction through a program provided by an institution accredited by the American dental association commission on dental accreditation or a program provided by a sponsor of continuing education approved by the board.

(4) The dentist supervising the assistant has observed the assistant successfully apply at least six sealants.

(5) Except as provided in division (D) or (E) of this section, the dentist supervising the assistant checks and approves the application of all sealants placed by the assistant before the patient leaves the location where the sealant application procedure is performed.

(D)(1) A dental assistant who is certified by the dental assisting national board, the Ohio commission on dental assistant certification, or the American medical technologists may provide, for not more than fifteen consecutive business days, all of the following services to a patient when the supervising dentist is not physically present at the location where the services are provided if the conditions specified in division (D)(2) of this section have been satisfied:

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

(b) Application of fluoride varnish;

(c) Application of disclosing solutions;

(d) Application of desensitizing agents, excluding silver diamine fluoride;

(e) Caries susceptibility testing;

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

(2) The conditions that must be satisfied before a dental assistant may provide the services specified in division (D)(1) of this section are all of the following:

(a) The dental assistant has at least one year and a minimum of one thousand five hundred hours of experience practicing as a dental assistant.

(b) The dental assistant has successfully completed a course approved by the state dental board in the identification and prevention of potential medical emergencies.

(c) The supervising dentist has evaluated the dental assistant's skills.

(d) The supervising dentist has established written protocols or written standing orders for the dental assistant to follow during and in the absence of an emergency.

(e) The supervising dentist completed and evaluated a medical and dental history of the patient not more than one year prior to the date that the dental assistant provides services to the patient, and the supervising dentist determines that the patient is in a medically stable condition.

(f) The patient is notified, in advance of the appointment for services, that the supervising dentist will be absent from the location and that the dental assistant cannot diagnose the patient's dental health care status.

(g) The dental assistant is employed by, or under contract with, the supervising dentist, a dentist licensed under this chapter who meets one of the criteria specified in division (C)(10)(b) of section 4715.22 of the Revised Code, or a government entity that employs the dental assistant to provide services in a public school or in connection with other programs the government entity administers.

(3) A dental assistant who is certified by the dental assisting national board, the Ohio commission on dental assistant certification, or the American medical technologists may apply, for not more than fifteen business days, pit and fissure sealants when the supervising dentist is not physically present at the location where the sealants are to be applied if the dental assistant meets the requirements in divisions (C)(3) and (4) of this section and all of the conditions specified in division (D)(2) of this section have been satisfied.

(E) A dental assistant who is certified by the dental assisting national board, the Ohio commission on dental assistant certification, or the American medical technologists may apply pit and fissure sealants prior to a dentist examining the patient and rendering a diagnosis, and when a dentist is not physically present at the location where the service is provided, if all of the following are the case:

(1) The dental assistant meets the requirements in divisions (C)(3) and (4) of this section.

(2) The conditions specified in divisions (D)(2)(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g) of this section have been satisfied.

(3) The dental assistant is providing the service as part of a program operated through any of the following: a school district board of education or the governing board of an educational service center; the board of health of a city or general health district or the authority having the duties of a board of health under section 3709.05 of the Revised Code; a national, state, district, or local dental association; or any other public or private entity recognized by the state dental board.

(4) A supervising dentist for the program described in division (E)(3) of this section meets both of the following conditions:

(a) Is employed by or a volunteer for, and the patients are referred by, the entity through which the program is operated;

(b) Is available for consultation by telephone, videoconferencing, or other means of electronic communication.

(5) The application of pit and fissure sealants is limited to erupted permanent posterior teeth without suspicion of dentinal cavitation.

(6) If the patient is a minor, a parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the patient has been notified that a dentist will not be present at the location and that the dental assistant is not trained to diagnose or treat other serious dental concerns that could exist.

(F) Subject to this section and the applicable rules of the board, licensed dentists may assign to dental assistants and other qualified personnel dental procedures that do not require the professional competence or skill of the licensed dentist, a dental hygienist, or an expanded function dental auxiliary as this section or the board by rule authorizes dental assistants and other qualified personnel to perform. Except as provided in division (D) or (E) of this section, the performance of dental procedures by dental assistants and other qualified personnel shall be under direct supervision and full responsibility of the licensed dentist.

(G) Nothing in this section shall be construed by rule of the state dental board or otherwise to do the following:

(1) Authorize dental assistants or other qualified personnel to engage in the practice of dental hygiene as defined by sections 4715.22 and 4715.23 of the Revised Code or to perform the duties of a dental hygienist, including the removal of calcarious deposits, dental cement, or accretions on the crowns and roots of teeth other than as authorized pursuant to this section;

(2) Authorize dental assistants or other qualified personnel to engage in the practice of an expanded function dental auxiliary as specified in section 4715.64 of the Revised Code or to perform the duties of an expanded function dental auxiliary other than as authorized pursuant to this section.

(3) Authorize the assignment of any of the following:

(a) Diagnosis;

(b) Treatment planning and prescription, including prescription for drugs and medicaments or authorization for restorative, prosthodontic, or orthodontic appliances;

(c) Surgical procedures on hard or soft tissue of the oral cavity, or any other intraoral procedure that contributes to or results in an irremediable alteration of the oral anatomy;

(d) The making of final impressions from which casts are made to construct any dental restoration.

(H) No dentist shall assign any dental assistant or other individual acting in the capacity of qualified personnel to perform any dental procedure that the assistant or other individual is not authorized by this section or by board rule to perform. No dental assistant or other individual acting in the capacity of qualified personnel shall perform any dental procedure other than in accordance with this section and any applicable board rule or any dental procedure that the assistant or other individual is not authorized by this section or by board rule to perform.

Last updated December 29, 2023 at 6:36 AM

Available Versions of this Section

• September 21, 2006 – House Bill 311 - 126th General Assembly
• March 23, 2015 – House Bill 463 - 130th General Assembly
• March 20, 2019 – Amended by Senate Bill 259 - 132nd General Assembly
• March 23, 2022 – Amended by Senate Bill 166 - 134th General Assembly
• December 29, 2023 – Amended by Senate Bill 131 - 134th General Assembly