HB 258

                                1  HOUSE BILL 258
                                2     57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4  Pamelya Herndon
                                5
                                6
                                7
                                8
                                9
                                10  AN ACT
                                11   RELATING TO LICENSURE; AMENDING THE DENTAL HEALTH CARE ACT TO
                                12   EXPAND THE SCOPE OF PRACTICE OF CERTAIN TYPES OF DENTAL
                                13   HYGIENISTS.
                                14
                                15   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
                                16  SECTION 1.    Section 61-5A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994,
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                                17   Chapter 55, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
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                                18  "61-5A-3.    DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Dental Health Care
                                19   Act:
                                20  A.     "assessment" means the review and documentation
                                21   of the oral condition, and the recognition and documentation of
                                22   deviations from the healthy condition, without a diagnosis to
                                23   determine the cause or nature of disease or its treatment;
                                24  B.     "board" means the New Mexico board of dental
                                25   health care;
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                                1  C.    "certified dental assistant" means [an
                                2    individual] a person certified by the dental assisting national
                                3    board;
                                4  D.    "collaborating dentist" means a dentist who has
                                5    entered into an agreement to provide consultation and create
                                6    protocols with a collaborating dental hygienist in accordance
                                7    with the rules of the board and the committee;
                                8  [D.] E.   "collaborative dental hygiene practice"
                                9    means [a New Mexico licensed dental hygienist practicing
                                10   according to Subsections D through G of Section 61-5A-4 NMSA
                                11   1978] the application of the science of prevention and
                                12   treatment of oral disease through the practice of dental
                                13   hygiene and in a cooperative working relationship with a
                                14   collaborating dentist;
                                15  [E.] F.   "committee" means the New Mexico dental
                                16   hygienists committee;
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                                17  [F.] G.   "community dental health coordinator" means
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                                18   a dental assistant, a dental hygienist or other trained
                                19   personnel certified by the board as a community dental health
                                20   coordinator to provide educational, preventive and limited
                                21   palliative care and assessment services working collaboratively
                                22   under the general supervision of a licensed dentist in settings
                                23   other than traditional dental offices and clinics;
                                24  [G.    "consulting dentist" means a dentist who has
                                25   entered into an approved agreement to provide consultation and
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                                1    create protocols with a collaborating dental hygienist and,
                                2    when required, to provide diagnosis and authorization for
                                3    services, in accordance with the rules of the board and the
                                4    committee;
                                5  H.   "dental hygiene-focused assessment" means the
                                6    documentation of existing oral and relevant system conditions
                                7    and the identification of potential oral disease to develop,
                                8    communicate, implement and evaluate a plan of oral hygiene care
                                9    and treatment;
                                10  I.] H.   "dental assistant certified in expanded
                                11   functions" means a dental assistant who meets specific
                                12   qualifications set forth by rule of the board;
                                13  I.   "dental hygiene diagnosis" means the
                                14   professional judgment rendered by a licensed dental hygienist
                                15   to identify, interpret and determine oral health conditions,
                                16   risks and patient needs that are within the dental hygienist's
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                                17   scope of practice and that may be addressed through preventive,
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                                18   therapeutic or nonsurgical dental hygiene services, education,
                                19   counseling and referral;
                                20  J.   "dental hygienist" means [an individual] a
                                21   person who has graduated and received a degree from a dental
                                22   hygiene educational program that is accredited by the
                                23   commission on dental accreditation, that provides a minimum of
                                24   two academic years of dental hygiene curriculum and that is an
                                25   institution of higher education; and "dental hygienist" means,
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                                1    except as the context otherwise requires, [an individual] a
                                2    person who holds a license to practice dental hygiene in New
                                3    Mexico;
                                4  K.   "dental laboratory" means any place where dental
                                5    restorative, prosthetic, cosmetic and therapeutic devices or
                                6    orthodontic appliances are fabricated, altered or repaired by
                                7    one or more persons under the orders and authorization of a
                                8    dentist;
                                9  L.   "dental technician" means [an individual] a
                                10   person, other than a licensed dentist, who fabricates, alters,
                                11   repairs or assists in the fabrication, alteration or repair of
                                12   dental restorative, prosthetic, cosmetic and therapeutic
                                13   devices or orthodontic appliances under the orders and
                                14   authorization of a dentist;
                                15  M.   "dental therapist" means [an individual] a
                                16   person who:
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                                17  (1)   is licensed as a dental hygienist;
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                                18  (2)   has provided, in accordance with board
                                19   rules, evidence to the board that the [individual] person has
                                20   graduated and received a degree from a dental therapy education
                                21   program that is accredited by the commission on dental
                                22   accreditation; and
                                23  (3)   except as the context otherwise requires,
                                24   is licensed to practice dental therapy in the state;
                                25  N.   "dental therapy post-graduate clinical
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                                1    experience" means advanced training in patient management and
                                2    technical competency:
                                3  (1)   that is approved by the board, based on
                                4    educational and supervisory criteria developed by the board and
                                5    established by board rule;
                                6  (2)   that is sanctioned by a regionally
                                7    accredited educational institution with a program accredited by
                                8    the commission on dental accreditation;
                                9  (3)   that consists of two thousand hours of
                                10   advanced training or, if the dental therapy educational program
                                11   graduate has five years of experience as a dental hygienist,
                                12   one thousand five hundred hours of advanced training; and
                                13  (4)   for which the dental therapist may have
                                14   been compensated;
                                15  O.   "dental therapy practice agreement" means a
                                16   contract between a supervising dentist and a dental therapist
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                                17   that outlines the parameters of care, level of supervision and
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                                18   protocols to be followed while performing dental therapy
                                19   procedures on patients under the supervising dentist's and
                                20   dental therapist's care;
                                21  P.   "dentist" means [an individual] a person who has
                                22   graduated and received a degree from a school of dentistry that
                                23   is accredited by the commission on dental accreditation and,
                                24   except as the context otherwise requires, who holds a license
                                25   to practice dentistry in New Mexico;
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                                1  Q.   "direct supervision" means the process under
                                2    which an act is performed when a dentist licensed pursuant to
                                3    the Dental Health Care Act:
                                4  (1)   is physically present throughout the
                                5    performance of the act;
                                6  (2)   orders, controls and accepts full
                                7    professional responsibility for the act performed; and
                                8  (3)   evaluates and approves the procedure
                                9    performed before the patient departs the care setting;
                                10  R.   "expanded-function dental auxiliary" means a
                                11   dental assistant, dental hygienist or other dental practitioner
                                12   that has received education beyond that required for licensure
                                13   or certification in that [individual's] person's scope of
                                14   practice and that has been certified by the board as an
                                15   expanded-function dental auxiliary who works under the direct
                                16   supervision of a dentist;
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                                17  S.   "federally qualified health center" means a
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                                18   health facility that the United States department of health and
                                19   human services has deemed to qualify for federal funds as a
                                20   federally qualified health center;
                                21  T.   "federally qualified health center look-alike
                                22   facility" means a health facility that the federal centers for
                                23   medicare and medicaid services certifies as a federally
                                24   qualified health center look-alike facility;
                                25  U.   "general supervision" means the authorization by
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                                1    a dentist of the procedures to be used by a dental therapist,
                                2    community dental health coordinator, dental hygienist, dental
                                3    assistant or dental student and the execution of the procedures
                                4    in accordance with a dentist's diagnosis and treatment plan at
                                5    a time the dentist is not physically present and in facilities
                                6    as designated by rule of the board;
                                7  V.   "indirect supervision" means that a dentist, or
                                8    in certain settings, a dental therapist, dental hygienist or
                                9    dental assistant certified in expanded functions, is present in
                                10   the treatment facility while authorized treatments are being
                                11   performed by a dental therapist, dental hygienist, dental
                                12   assistant or dental student;
                                13  W.   "long-term care facility" means a nursing home
                                14   licensed by the [department of] health care authority to
                                15   provide intermediate or skilled nursing care;
                                16  X.   "non-dentist owner" means [an individual] a
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                                17   person not licensed as a dentist in New Mexico or a corporate
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                                18   entity not owned by a majority interest of a New Mexico
                                19   licensed dentist that employs or contracts with a dentist or
                                20   dental hygienist to provide dental or dental hygiene services;
                                21  Y.   "nonprofit community dental organization" means
                                22   a community-supported entity that:
                                23  (1)   provides clinical dental services
                                24   primarily to low-income patients or medicaid recipients; and
                                25  (2)   has demonstrated to the taxation and
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                                1    revenue department that it has been granted exemption from the
                                2    federal income tax by the United States commissioner of
                                3    internal revenue as an organization described in Section
                                4    501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
                                5    as amended or renumbered;
                                6  Z.    "palliative procedures" means nonsurgical,
                                7    reversible procedures that are meant to alleviate pain and
                                8    stabilize acute or emergent problems; [and]
                                9  AA.    "public health dental hygienist" means a
                                10   licensed dental hygienist who is certified by the committee to
                                11   practice without supervision in public health and
                                12   nontraditional settings by delivering educational, assessment,
                                13   preventive, clinical, therapeutic and dental hygiene diagnostic
                                14   services within the dental hygienist's scope of practice; and
                                15  [AA.] BB.   "teledentistry" means a dentist's, dental
                                16   hygienist's or dental therapist's use of electronic
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                                17   information, imaging and communication technologies, including
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                                18   interactive audio, video and data communications as well as
                                19   store-and-forward technologies, to provide and support dental
                                20   health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment,
                                21   transfer of dental data and education."
                                22        SECTION 2.     Section 61-5A-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994,
                                23   Chapter 55, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
                                24        "61-5A-4.     SCOPE OF PRACTICE.--
                                25  A.    As used in the Dental Health Care Act, "practice
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                                1    of dentistry" means:
                                2  (1)    the diagnosis, treatment, correction,
                                3    change, relief, prevention, prescription of remedy, surgical
                                4    operation and adjunctive treatment for any disease, pain,
                                5    deformity, deficiency, injury, defect, lesion or physical
                                6    condition involving both the functional and aesthetic aspects
                                7    of the teeth, gingivae, jaws and adjacent hard and soft tissue
                                8    of the oral and maxillofacial regions, including the
                                9    prescription or administration of any drug, medicine, biologic,
                                10   apparatus, brace, anesthetic or other therapeutic or diagnostic
                                11   substance or technique by [an individual] a person or the
                                12   [individual's] person's agent or employee gratuitously or for
                                13   any fee, reward, emolument or any other form of compensation
                                14   whether direct or indirect;
                                15  (2)    representation of an ability or
                                16   willingness to do any act mentioned in Paragraph (1) of this
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                                17   subsection;
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                                18  (3)    the review of dental insurance claims for
                                19   therapeutic appropriateness of treatment, including but not
                                20   limited to the interpretation of radiographs, photographs,
                                21   models, periodontal records and narratives;
                                22  (4)    the offering of advice or authoritative
                                23   comment regarding the appropriateness of dental therapies, the
                                24   need for recommended treatment or the efficacy of specific
                                25   treatment modalities for other than the purpose of consultation
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                                1    to another dentist; or
                                2  (5)     with specific reference to the teeth,
                                3    gingivae, jaws or adjacent hard or soft tissues of the oral and
                                4    maxillofacial region in living persons, to propose, agree or
                                5    attempt to do or make an examination or give an estimate of
                                6    cost with intent to, or undertaking to:
                                7  (a)   perform a physical evaluation of a
                                8    patient in an office or in a hospital, clinic or other medical
                                9    or dental facility prior to, incident to and appropriate to the
                                10   performance of any dental services or oral or maxillofacial
                                11   surgery;
                                12  (b)   perform surgery, an extraction or
                                13   any other operation or to administer an anesthetic in
                                14   connection therewith;
                                15  (c)   diagnose or treat a condition,
                                16   disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, lesion or other
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                                17   physical condition;
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                                18  (d)   correct a malposition;
                                19  (e)   treat a fracture;
                                20  (f)   remove calcareous deposits;
                                21  (g)   replace missing anatomy with an
                                22   artificial substitute;
                                23  (h)   construct, make, furnish, supply,
                                24   reproduce, alter or repair an artificial substitute or
                                25   restorative or corrective appliance or place an artificial
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                                1    substitute or restorative or corrective appliance in the mouth
                                2    or attempt to adjust it;
                                3  (i)   give interpretations or readings of
                                4    dental radiographs;
                                5  (j)   provide limited diagnostic and
                                6    treatment planning via teledentistry; or
                                7  (k)   do any other remedial, corrective or
                                8    restorative work.
                                9  B.   As used in the Dental Health Care Act, "the
                                10   practice of dental hygiene" means the application of the
                                11   science of the prevention and treatment of oral disease through
                                12   the provision of educational, assessment, preventive, clinical,
                                13   dental hygiene diagnostic and other therapeutic services [under
                                14   the general supervision of a dentist].     A dental hygienist in a
                                15   collaborative practice [may perform the procedures listed in
                                16   this section without general supervision while the hygienist is
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                                17   in a cooperative working relationship with a consulting
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                                18   dentist] or a public health dental hygienist may perform the
                                19   procedures listed in this section, pursuant to rules
                                20   promulgated by the board and the committee.     "The practice of
                                21   dental hygiene" includes:
                                22  (1)   prophylaxis, which is the removal of
                                23   plaque, calculus and stains from the tooth structures as a
                                24   means to control local irritational factors;
                                25  (2)   removing diseased crevicular tissue and
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                                1    related nonsurgical periodontal procedures;
                                2  (3)    except in cases where a tooth exhibits
                                3    cavitation of the enamel surface, assessing without a dentist's
                                4    evaluation whether the application of pit and fissure sealants
                                5    is indicated;
                                6  (4)    except in cases where a tooth exhibits
                                7    cavitation of the enamel surface, applying pit and fissure
                                8    sealants without mechanical alteration of the tooth;
                                9  (5)    applying fluorides and other topical
                                10   therapeutic and preventive agents;
                                11  (6)    exposing and assessing oral radiographs
                                12   for abnormalities;
                                13  (7)    screening to identify indications of oral
                                14   abnormalities;
                                15  (8)    performing dental [hygiene-focused
                                16   assessments] hygiene diagnosis;
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                                17  (9)    assessing periodontal conditions; and
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                                18  (10)   such other closely related services as
                                19   permitted by the rules of the committee and the board.
                                20  C.   In addition to performing dental hygiene as
                                21   defined in Subsection B of this section, a dental hygienist may
                                22   apply preventive topical fluorides and remineralization agents
                                23   without supervision in public and community medical facilities,
                                24   schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and such other
                                25   settings as the committee may determine by rule ratified by the
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                                1    board, so long as the dental hygienist's license is not
                                2    restricted pursuant to the Impaired Dentists and Dental
                                3    Hygienists Act.
                                4  D.   In addition to performing dental hygiene as
                                5    defined in Subsection B of this section, dental hygienists who
                                6    have met the criteria as the committee shall establish and the
                                7    board shall ratify may administer local anesthesia under
                                8    indirect supervision of a dentist.
                                9  E.   The board may certify a dental hygienist to
                                10   administer local anesthetic under the general supervision of a
                                11   dentist if the dental hygienist, in addition to performing
                                12   dental hygiene as defined in Subsection B of this section:
                                13  (1)   has administered local anesthesia under
                                14   the indirect supervision of a dentist for at least two years,
                                15   during which time the dental hygienist has competently
                                16   administered at least twenty cases of local anesthesia and can
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                                17   document this with a signed affirmation by the supervising
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                                18   dentist;
                                19  (2)   administers local anesthetic under the
                                20   written prescription or order of a dentist; and
                                21  (3)   emergency medical services are available
                                22   in accordance with rules promulgated by the board.
                                23  F.   The board may certify a public health dental
                                24   hygienist or a dental hygienist certified for collaborative
                                25   dental hygiene practice to administer local anesthetic without
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                                1    supervision if the dental hygienist, in addition to performing
                                2    dental hygiene as defined in Subsection B of this section, has
                                3    administered local anesthesia under the indirect supervision of
                                4    a dentist for at least two years, during which time the dental
                                5    hygienist has competently administered at least twenty cases of
                                6    local anesthesia and can document this with a signed
                                7    affirmation by the supervising dentist.
                                8  [F.] G.    A dental hygienist:
                                9  (1)    may prescribe, administer and dispense a
                                10   fluoride supplement, topically applied fluoride or topically
                                11   applied antimicrobial only when the prescribing, administering
                                12   or dispensing is performed:
                                13  (a)   under the supervision of a dentist,
                                14   unless the dental hygienist is a public health dental hygienist
                                15   or certified for collaborative dental hygiene practice;
                                16  (b)   pursuant to rules the board and the
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                                17   committee have adopted;
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                                18  (c)   within the parameters of a drug
                                19   formulary approved by the board in consultation with the board
                                20   of pharmacy;
                                21  (d)   within the parameters of guidelines
                                22   established pursuant to Section 61-5A-10 NMSA 1978; and
                                23  (e)   in compliance with state laws
                                24   concerning prescription packaging, labeling and recordkeeping
                                25   requirements; and
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                                1  (2)    shall not otherwise dispense [dangerous
                                2    drugs or] controlled substances.
                                3  [G.] H.    A New Mexico licensed dental hygienist may
                                4    be certified:
                                5  (1)    for collaborative dental hygiene practice
                                6    in accordance with the educational and experience criteria
                                7    established collaboratively by the committee and the board; and
                                8  (2)    as a public health dental hygienist to
                                9    practice without supervision or collaborative agreement in
                                10   public health settings and in accordance with the educational
                                11   and experience criteria established by the committee.
                                12  [H.] I.    An expanded-function dental auxiliary may
                                13   perform the following procedures under the direct supervision
                                14   of a dentist:
                                15  (1)    placing and shaping direct restorations;
                                16  (2)    taking final impressions, excluding those
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                                17   for fixed or removable prosthetics involving multiple teeth;
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                                18  (3)    cementing indirect and provisional
                                19   restorations for temporary use;
                                20  (4)    applying pit and fissure sealants without
                                21   mechanical alteration of the tooth;
                                22  (5)    placing temporary and sedative restorative
                                23   material in hand-excavated carious lesions and unprepared tooth
                                24   fractures;
                                25  (6)    removal of orthodontic bracket cement; and
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                                1  (7)    fitting and shaping of stainless steel
                                2    crowns to be cemented by a dentist.
                                3  [I.] J.      An expanded-function dental auxiliary may
                                4    re-cement temporary or permanent crowns with temporary cement
                                5    under the general supervision of a dentist in a situation that
                                6    a dentist deems to be an emergency.
                                7  [J.] K.      An expanded-function dental auxiliary may
                                8    perform other related functions for which the expanded-function
                                9    dental auxiliary meets the training and educational standards
                                10   established by the board and that are not expressly prohibited
                                11   by the board.
                                12  [K.    For the purpose of this section, "collaborative
                                13   dental hygiene practice" means the application of the science
                                14   of the prevention and treatment of oral disease through the
                                15   provision of educational, assessment, preventive, clinical and
                                16   other therapeutic services as specified in Subsection B of this
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                                17   section in a cooperative working relationship with a consulting
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                                18   dentist, but without general supervision as set forth by the
                                19   rules established and approved by both the board and the
                                20   committee.]"
                                21        SECTION 3.     Section 61-5A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994,
                                22   Chapter 55, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
                                23        "61-5A-5.     LICENSE REQUIRED--EXEMPTIONS.--
                                24  A.    Unless licensed to practice as a dentist under
                                25   the Dental Health Care Act, no person shall:
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                                1  (1)   practice dentistry;
                                2  (2)   use the title "dentist", "dental surgeon",
                                3    "oral surgeon" or any other title, abbreviation, letters,
                                4    figures, signs or devices that indicate the person is a
                                5    licensed dentist; or
                                6  (3)   perform any of the acts enumerated under
                                7    the definition of the practice of dentistry as defined in the
                                8    Dental Health Care Act.
                                9  B.   The following, under the stipulations described,
                                10   may practice dentistry or an area of dentistry without a New
                                11   Mexico dental license:
                                12  (1)   regularly licensed physicians or surgeons
                                13   are not prohibited from extracting teeth or treating any
                                14   disease coming within the province of the practice of medicine;
                                15  (2)   New Mexico licensed dental hygienists and
                                16   community dental health coordinators may provide those services
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                                17   within their scope of practice that are also within the scope
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                                18   of the practice of dentistry;
                                19  (3)   any dental student duly enrolled in an
                                20   accredited school of dentistry recognized by the board, while
                                21   engaged in educational programs offered by the school in
                                22   private offices, public clinics or educational institutions
                                23   within the state of New Mexico under the indirect supervision
                                24   of a licensed dentist;
                                25  (4)   any dental hygiene or dental assisting
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                                1    student duly enrolled in an accredited school of dental hygiene
                                2    or dental assisting engaged in procedures within or outside the
                                3    scope of dental hygiene that are part of the curriculum of that
                                4    program in the school setting and under the indirect
                                5    supervision of a faculty member of the accredited program who
                                6    is a licensed dentist, dental hygienist or dental assistant
                                7    certified in the procedures being taught;
                                8  (5)   unlicensed persons performing for a
                                9    licensed dentist merely mechanical work upon inert matter in
                                10   the construction, making, alteration or repairing of any
                                11   artificial dental substitute, dental restorative or corrective
                                12   appliance, when the casts or impressions for the work have been
                                13   furnished by a licensed dentist and where the work is
                                14   prescribed by a dentist pursuant to a written authorization by
                                15   that dentist;
                                16  (6)   commissioned dental officers of the
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                                17   uniformed forces of the United States and dentists providing
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                                18   services to the United States public health service, the United
                                19   States department of veterans affairs or within federally
                                20   controlled facilities in the discharge of their official
                                21   duties; provided that such persons who hold dental licenses in
                                22   New Mexico shall be subject to the provisions of the Dental
                                23   Health Care Act;
                                24  (7)   dental assistants performing adjunctive
                                25   services to the provision of dental care, under the indirect
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                                1    supervision of a dentist, as determined by rule of the board if
                                2    such services are not within the practice of dental hygiene as
                                3    specifically listed in Subsection B of Section 61-5A-4 NMSA
                                4    1978, unless allowed in Subsection F of this section;
                                5  (8)   a dental therapy student or graduate of a
                                6    dental therapy educational program enrolled in a board-approved
                                7    program while engaged in an educational program offered by the
                                8    dental therapy educational program or dental therapy post-
                                9    graduate clinical experience in a private office, public clinic
                                10   or educational institution within the state of New Mexico under
                                11   the indirect supervision of a licensed dentist; and
                                12  (9)   a dental therapist who is licensed in New
                                13   Mexico working under the supervision of a dentist and
                                14   performing the procedures in accordance with the provisions of
                                15   Section [9 of this 2019 act] 61-5A-13.1 NMSA 1978.
                                16  C.   Unless licensed to practice as a dental
[bracketed material] = delete
                                17   therapist under the Dental Health Care Act, no person shall:
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                                18  (1)   practice as a dental therapist;
                                19  (2)   use the title, abbreviation "D.T.",
                                20   letters, figures, signs or devices that indicate the person is
                                21   a licensed dental therapist; or
                                22  (3)   perform any of the acts defined as the
                                23   practice of dental therapy in the Dental Health Care Act.
                                24  D.   Unless licensed to practice as a dental
                                25   hygienist under the Dental Health Care Act, no person shall:
                                     .233042.2
                                                                    - 19 -
                                1  (1)   practice as a dental hygienist;
                                2  (2)   use the title "dental hygienist" or
                                3    abbreviation "R.D.H." or any other title, abbreviation,
                                4    letters, figures, signs or devices that indicate the person is
                                5    a licensed dental hygienist; or
                                6  (3)   perform any of the acts defined as the
                                7    practice of dental hygiene in the Dental Health Care Act.
                                8  E.   The following, under the stipulations described,
                                9    may practice dental hygiene or the area of dental hygiene
                                10   outlined without a New Mexico dental hygiene license:
                                11  (1)   students enrolled in an accredited dental
                                12   hygiene program engaged in procedures that are part of the
                                13   curriculum of that program and under the indirect supervision
                                14   of a licensed faculty member of the accredited program;
                                15  (2)   dental assistants and community dental
                                16   health coordinators working under general supervision who:
[bracketed material] = delete
                                17  (a)   expose dental radiographs after
underscored material = new
                                18   being certified in expanded functions by the board;
                                19  (b)   perform rubber cup coronal
                                20   polishing, which is not represented as a prophylaxis, having
                                21   satisfied the educational requirements as established by rules
                                22   of the board;
                                23  (c)   apply fluorides as established by
                                24   rules of the board; and
                                25  (d)   perform those other dental hygienist
                                     .233042.2
                                                                    - 20 -
                                1    functions as recommended to the board by the committee and set
                                2    forth by rule of the board; and
                                3  (3)   dental assistants certified in expanded
                                4    functions, working under the indirect supervision of a dental
                                5    hygienist certified for collaborative practice and under the
                                6    protocols established in a collaborative practice agreement
                                7    with a [consulting] collaborating dentist.
                                8  F.   Dental assistants working under the indirect
                                9    supervision of a dentist and in accordance with the rules and
                                10   regulations established by the board may:
                                11  (1)   expose dental radiographs;
                                12  (2)   perform rubber cup coronal polishing that
                                13   is not represented as a prophylaxis;
                                14  (3)   apply fluoride and pit and fissure
                                15   sealants without mechanical alteration of the tooth;
                                16  (4)   perform those other dental hygienist
[bracketed material] = delete
                                17   functions as recommended to the board by the committee and set
underscored material = new
                                18   forth by rule of the board; and
                                19  (5)   perform such other related functions that
                                20   are not expressly prohibited by statute or rules of the board.
                                21  G.   A community dental health coordinator working
                                22   under the general supervision of a dentist and in accordance
                                23   with the rules established by the board may:
                                24  (1)   place temporary and sedative restorative
                                25   material in unexcavated carious lesions and unprepared tooth
                                     .233042.2
                                                                    - 21 -
                                1    fractures;
                                2  (2)   collect and transmit diagnostic data and
                                3    images via telemetric connection;
                                4  (3)   dispense and apply medications on the
                                5    specific order of a dentist;
                                6  (4)   provide limited palliative procedures for
                                7    dental emergencies in consultation with a supervising dentist
                                8    as allowed by the rules the board has promulgated; and
                                9  (5)   perform other related functions for which
                                10   the community dental health coordinator meets training and
                                11   educational standards established by the board and that are not
                                12   expressly prohibited by statute or rules promulgated by the
                                13   board.
                                14  H.   Unless licensed as a dentist or non-dentist
                                15   owner, or as otherwise exempt from the licensing requirements
                                16   of the Dental Health Care Act, no individual or corporate
[bracketed material] = delete
                                17   entity shall:
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                                18  (1)   employ or contract with a dentist or
                                19   dental hygienist for the purpose of providing dental or dental
                                20   hygiene services as defined by their respective scopes of
                                21   practice; or
                                22  (2)   enter into a managed care or other
                                23   agreement to provide dental or dental hygiene services in New
                                24   Mexico.
                                25  I.   The following, under stipulations described, may
                                     .233042.2
                                                                     - 22 -
                                1    function as a non-dentist owner without a New Mexico license:
                                2  (1)   government agencies providing dental
                                3    services within affiliated facilities;
                                4  (2)   government agencies engaged in providing
                                5    public health measures to prevent dental disease;
                                6  (3)   spouses of deceased licensed dentists or
                                7    dental hygienists for a period of one year following the death
                                8    of the licensee;
                                9  (4)   accredited schools of dentistry, dental
                                10   hygiene and dental assisting providing dental services solely
                                11   in an educational setting;
                                12  (5)   dental hygienists licensed in New Mexico
                                13   or corporate entities with a majority interest owned by a
                                14   dental hygienist licensed in New Mexico;
                                15  (6)   federally qualified health centers, as
                                16   designated by the United States department of health and human
[bracketed material] = delete
                                17   services, providing dental services;
underscored material = new
                                18  (7)   nonprofit community dental organizations;
                                19   and
                                20  (8)   hospitals licensed by the [department of]
                                21   health care authority."
                                22  - 23 -
                                23
                                24
                                25
                                     .233042.2