Sec. 16656.

(1) Under the supervision of a dentist, a licensed dental therapist may provide any of the following care or services:

(a) Identifying oral and systemic conditions that require evaluation or treatment by dentists, physicians, or other health care professionals and managing referrals.

(b) Comprehensive charting of the oral cavity.

(c) Providing oral health instruction and disease prevention education, including nutritional counseling and dietary analysis.

(d) Administering and exposing radiographic images.

(e) Dental prophylaxis including subgingival scaling or polishing procedures.

(f) Dispensing and administering via the oral or topical route nonnarcotic analgesics and anti-inflammatory and antibiotic medications as prescribed by a health care professional.

(g) Applying topical preventative or prophylactic agents, including fluoride varnish, silver diamine fluoride and other fluoride treatments, antimicrobial agents, and pit and fissure sealants.

(h) Pulp vitality testing.

(i) Applying desensitizing medication or resin.

(j) Fabricating athletic mouth guards.

(k) Changing periodontal dressings.

(l) Administering local anesthetic and nitrous oxide analgesia.

(m) Simple extraction of erupted primary teeth.

(n) Emergency palliative treatment of dental pain related to a care or service described in this subsection.

(o) Preparation and placement of direct restoration in primary and permanent teeth.

(p) Fabrication and placement of single-tooth temporary crowns.

(q) Preparation and placement of preformed crowns on primary teeth.

(r) Indirect and direct pulp capping on permanent teeth.

(s) Indirect pulp capping on primary teeth.

(t) Suturing and suture removal.

(u) Minor adjustments and repairs on removable prostheses.

(v) Placement and removal of space maintainers.

(w) Nonsurgical extractions of periodontally diseased permanent teeth with tooth mobility +3. However, a dental therapist shall not extract a tooth for any patient if the tooth is unerupted, impacted, or fractured or needs to be sectioned for removal.

(x) Performing other related services and functions authorized by the supervising dentist and for which the dental therapist is trained.

(y) Performing any other duties of a dental therapist that are authorized by the board by rule.

(2) A dental therapist may supervise dental assistants and dental hygienists to the extent permitted in a written practice agreement. However, a dental therapist shall not supervise more than 3 dental assistants and 2 dental hygienists in any 1 practice setting.

(3) A dental therapist shall not prescribe a controlled substance that is included in schedules 2 to 5 of part 72.

(4) As used in this section and section 16657, "health care professional" means an individual who is authorized to practice a health profession under this article.

History: Add. 2018, Act 463, Eff. Mar. 27, 2019 Popular Name: Act 368