ADVOCACY & RESEARCH
The Georgia Dental Hygienists’ Association supports broadening the scope of dental hygiene practice through state dental boards and/or dental practice acts to meet the health care needs of the public. This would
enable the dental hygienist to provide preventive and therapeutic services for all people.
State and federal legislation and policy affect your career by determining how and where you can practice dental hygiene. The ADHA/GDHA supports you and your interests at the local, state and federal levels by making sure that legislators and decision makers are aware of your positions on practice issues.
We work with policy makers and stakeholders to promote policies that encourage increased availability of oral health care and work on advocacy efforts to allow dental hygienists to practice to the full extent of their dental hygiene education and licensure.
GDHA works on your behalf to:
-
Promote the advancement of the dental hygiene profession
-
Promote the oral health of the public
-
Promote access to oral health
Dental Hygiene Appreciation Day 2023 will be held on February 9th. Check back here for more information.
As of January 2020, the Georgia
Department of Medicaid will now provide reimbursement of services delivered by dental hygienists working under the general supervision of their dentist.
Rule Passed for Local Anesthesia for Dental Hygienists
Georgia Board of Dentistry Rule 150-5-.07
A dental hygienist under the direct supervision of a Georgia licensed dentist may administer local anesthesia for hygiene purposes, including intraoral block anesthesia, soft tissue infiltration anesthesia, or both, to a non-sedated patient who requires local anesthesia for pain management and who is 18 years of age or older if the following criteria are met.
Educational and Practical Experience Requirements:
-
Graduate of an approved curriculum program.
-
Dental hygiene anesthesia courses or programs required for dental hygienists licensed in Georgia to qualify to administer local anesthesia:
-
Shall be taught using lecture and laboratory/clinical formats by a dental education program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (ADA) or its successor agency, a similar organization approved by the United States Department of Education, or the Board.
-
The requirements shall include, at a minimum, sixty (60) hours of coursework comprised of thirty (30) didactic hours, fifteen (15) laboratory hours, and fifteen (15) clinical hours which shall include but not be limited to the following:
-
Theory of pain control,
-
Selection-of-pain-control modalities,
-
Anatomy,
-
Neurophysiology,
-
Pharmacology of local anesthetics,
-
Pharmacology of vasoconstrictors,
-
Psychological aspects of pain control,
-
Systemic complications,
-
Techniques of maxillary anesthesia,
-
Techniques of mandibular anesthesia,
-
Infection control,
-
Safety Injection practices, and
-
Medical emergencies involving local anesthesia.
-
Laboratory and clinical instruction shall be provided with a faculty-to-student ratio of no greater than 1:5 under the direct supervision of a dentist licensed in this state.
-
Courses must be taught to a minimum score of eighty percent (80%) in the parenteral administration of local anesthesia, and successful students shall be awarded a certificate of completion
-
-
Continuing Education:
Dental hygienists administering local anesthesia pursuant to this rule must complete two (2) hours of approved continuing education per biennium, which shall include a review of local anesthetic techniques, contraindications, systemic complications, medical emergencies related to local anesthesia, and a general overview of dental office emergencies. These hours may be used as part of the twenty-two (22) hours of continuing education required for each biennium.
WHERE CAN I GET TRAINING?
Please view the link for currently approved courses from the Georgia Board of Dentistry.
DOES MY LA EDUCATION FROM ANOTHER STATE TRANSFER?
Please view this document to review the gap in hours of training by state as required in Georgia to give local anesthetic.
Do you know who your legislators are? Find them Here
LEGISLATION
The Georgia Dental Hygienists' Association represents over 7,000 licensed dental hygienists in the state. GDHA works with key legislators on issues and bills affecting dental hygiene in Georgia.
Frequently Asked Questions about HB 154
Frequently Asked Questions every practice should know about the new laws and Dental Assistants
General Supervision Toolkit
The purpose of this toolkit is to aid dental care providers (i.e. dental hygienists, dentists) and interested stakeholders (i.e. administrators, medical providers) in how to utilize dental hygienists working under general supervision.
2017 HB 154, allows Dental Hygienists to perform preventive functions under general supervision passed the legislature. The bill went into effect January 1, 2018.
Review House Bill 154 : http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20172018/170636.pdf
Join Our Legislative Network Today! RDHCare
What is RDHCare?
RDHCare is a network of dental hygienists interested in participating in the legislative process as it relates to issues involving dental hygiene practice, as well as other topics related to health care.
To this end, we have formed a separate communication network to notify hygienists of events of interest. If you are interested, please get in touch with us at gdhawebmaster@gmail.com
General Supervision
