Legislative Update 2014
STEPHANIE GIBSON SMITH
TEXAS LEGISLATIVE ASSOCIATES
Legislative Proposals
Local Anesthesia
Expansion of Current Workforce Practice Environments
Mid-Level : Dental Hygiene Practitioner
Reinstate the loan forgiveness and/or reimbursement
program for rural areas and all dental HPSA’s in Texas
and modify to include dental hygienists.
Local Anesthesia
• Delegated by Dentist
• Baccalaureate degree or
• Licensed for up at least a year practicing in a
branch of the United States armed forces
• Licensed for up at least a year practicing in
another state
Expansion of Current Workforce
• Collaborative Agreement with Dentist
• Patient Care for up to 18 months without referral to a
dentist
• Use of Telemedicine
• Preventive Care in Additional Facilities –
Head Start center, pre-school, K-12 school,
community center, adult day care facility,
correctional facility, home health care
environment, charitable clinic, veterans or
military clinic, hospital and long-term care
facility
Dental Hygiene Practitioner
 Assessments and treatments; preparations; restorations.
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Perform oral health assessments, pulpal disease assessments for
primary and young teeth, simple cavity preparations, provisional
restorations and simple non surgical extractions;
Crowns; space maintainers. Prepare and place stainless steel
crowns and aesthetic anterior temporary crowns for primary
incisors and prepare, place and remove space maintainers;
Referrals. Provide referrals for further dental or medical
assessment;
Anesthesia. Administer local anesthesia and nitrous oxide
analgesia;
Preventive services. Perform preventive services;
Dental Hygiene Practitioner Cont.
 Management of dental trauma, minor surgical care and
suturing; extractions. Conduct urgent management of dental
trauma, perform minor surgical care and suturing, non surgical
extraction of primary and permanent teeth;
 Prescribe. Prescribe anti-inflammatories, analgesics,
antimicrobials, antibiotics and anticaries materials in
consultation with the supervising dentist or through standing
orders from the supervising dentist;
 Radiographs. Administer radiographs; and
 Other related services and functions. Perform other
related services and functions authorized by the supervising
dentist and for which the dental hygiene practitioner is trained.
Dental Hygiene Practitioner Cont.
 Education and Experience:
 Is a licensed dental hygienist and has graduated from
an dental hygiene practitioner education program
which:
 1. Meets the standards adopted in this State for the
certification of a bachelor’s degree-granting program
as a dental hygiene practitioner at an accredited
postsecondary institution;
 3. Meets the requirements for dental hygiene
practitioner education programs adopted by the
board.
Texas Dental Access Coalition
Mission:
Improved Access to Oral Healthcare
Increase the Number of New Patients Seen
Increase Jobs
Free Market Based Approach
Lower Healthcare Costs for the State and Patients
Members:
Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Conservative
Coalition, Charitable Clinics, Long term Care Facilities,
Adult Day Care Centers, Career Tech Schools, Coalition for
Disabilities, ARC, Correctional Facilities
Ultimate Goal of Coalition
Involvement of all stakeholders to build
support for addressing lack of care through
legislation next session focusing on
providing quality access to care moving the
focus to what is best for the patients in Texas
and not on protecting one’s existing turf.
Your Responsibility
 ACTIVELY engage with your personal
legislators
 Hygienists Need to work on campaigns every
weekend of October
We Need New Legisaltive
Champions…
LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE
A CONNECTION WITH A
LEGISLATOR.
IF NOT, DEVELOP ONE!
Texas State Dental Board Issues
 Hygienists Use of Lasers
Use of uninitiated lasers for biostimulation which
does not cut or cause irreversible damage
Sen. Schwertner Letter to Board
GAC Chairs and President’s Engagement
 Dental Service Organization Regulation
2014 Election Update
The Domino Effect….
Governor – running for President ???
Lt. Governor – Defeated
Attorney Gen. – running for Governor
Comptroller – retiring
Land Commissioner – defeated in race for Lt. Gov.
Agriculture Comm. – defeated in race for Lt. Gov.
Railroad Commissioner – defeated in race for AG
Potentially:
8 New or Fairly State Senators
and
80-100 Fairly New House Members
New Legislator Alert !!!
66% of all Legislators will have served
two sessions or less……
Time to invest in your profession…
Help remove the
burden from being
the most regulated
state in the country!
Your involvement is
Critical!!
Time to invest in your profession…
Freedom isn’t free…
HYPAC
Thank you
Stephanie Gibson Smith
512-497-7071
Gibson-stephanie@sbcglobal.net