New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 16 - OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
Chapter 5 - DENTISTRY (DENTISTS, DENTAL HYGIENISTS, ETC.)
Part 17 - DENTISTS AND DENTAL HYGIENISTS, COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE
Section 16.5.17.12 - COLLABORATIVE DENTAL HYGIENE PRACTICE AND LIMITATIONS

Universal Citation: 16 NM Admin Code 16.5.17.12

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A. A dental hygienist in a collaborative practice may perform the procedures in a dental hygienist's scope of practice listed in 16.5.29 NMAC without general supervision while the hygienist is in a cooperative working relationship with a consulting dentist, pursuant to rules promulgated by the board and the committee.

B. A collaborative practice dental hygienist may have more than one consulting dentist.

C. A dentist shall have a consulting agreement with no more than three collaborative practice dental hygienists. The board may grant exception to this limitation for public health settings on a case-by-case basis.

D. The collaborative practice dental hygienist may own and manage a dental hygiene practice, or enter into a contractual arrangement, in any location or setting in New Mexico.

E. The committee, through the board, may take any disciplinary action allowed by the Uniform Licensing Act, against a dental hygienist certified in collaborative practice.

F. Collaborative dental hygienist can administer local anesthesia under general supervision as defined in 16.5.28.8 NMAC and 16.5.28.12 NMAC.

G. A collaborative dental hygienist may assess for pit and fissure sealants without a dentist's evaluation as provided in Subsection D of 16.5.29.8 NMAC.

H. A collaborative dental hygienists may prescribe, administer and dispense topically applied fluoride and topically applied antimicrobials as provided for in 16.5.29.11 NMAC.

I. Perform dental hygiene focused assessment.

J. A collaborative practice dental hygienist shall not:

(1) administer local anesthesia except under the general supervision of a dentist; and only if certified to do so through the committee and ratified by the board;

(2) administer a drug or medication, except those directly indicated as dental topical therapeutic or preventive agents; other therapeutic agents may only be dispensed if the collaborative practice dental hygienist holds a class C clinic license; any drugs dispensed as a class C clinic (as designated and defined by the New Mexico board of pharmacy) shall be on the specific individual authorization of a dentist:
(a) all non-controlled substance medications requiring a prescription or order from the dentist may only be dispensed for immediate use in the collaborative practice dental hygienist office, and only on the specific order or protocol from the consulting dentist; a log of these dispensing shall be kept and a copy of this log shall be sent to the corresponding consulting dentist every six months; collaborative practice dental hygienists may not dispense or administer any controlled substance;

(b) prescription drugs, which are kept in bulk at the collaborative practice dental hygienist's office, to be dispensed or used by the collaborative practice dental hygienist as in 16.5.17.12 NMAC, shall be purchased on an order or prescription by a consulting dentist;

(3) diagnose dental disease, but may advise the patient of suspected pathology and periodontal status;

(4) perform oral hygiene procedures on any patient identified as having a significant health risk from the procedures; unless the patients' current health history has been reviewed by the patient's dentist of record or the consulting dentist; or for patients who reside in residential or long term care facilities, the patient's dentist or physician;

(5) perform treatments requiring the diagnosis of a dentist without a prescription/order from the consulting dentist; such treatments include but are not limited to, root planing, sealant application in presence of cavitation, administration of therapeutic agents and other services defined in Subsection B of Section 61-5A-4 NMSA 1978 as within the scope of dental hygiene practice but which require a dentists diagnosis;

(6) modify the standard collaborative practice protocol without a prescription or order from the consulting dentist;

(7) take impressions for bleaching trays, deliver bleaching materials or provide systems of home bleaching, or provide instructions to patients on using bleaching materials unless it is authorized on a case by case basis by prescription from a consulting dentist;

(8) provide in office bleaching systems unless under indirect supervision of a consulting dentist.

K. Effective July 1, 2015, a collaborative practice hygienist who owns a dental practice shall register with the board as a non-dentist owner. No additional license or fee is required for this registration. A collaborative practice hygienist who owns a dental practice must notify the board, in writing, if the dental practice has been sold or has closed.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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