Definitions

1 In this regulation:

"Act" means the Health Professions Act;

"dentist" means a person authorized under the Dentists Act to practise dentistry;

"facility" means

(a) a community care facility or an assisted living residence licensed or registered under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act,

(b) a hospital designated under the Hospital Act, or

(c) a Provincial mental health facility designated under the Mental Health Act that provides residential care to persons unable to readily access dental services in the community.

College name

2 The name "College of Dental Hygienists of British Columbia" is the name of the college established under section 15 (1) of the Act for dental hygiene.

Reserved title

3 The title "dental hygienist" is reserved for exclusive use by registrants.

Scope of practice

4 Subject to the bylaws, a registrant may assess the status of teeth and adjacent tissues and provide preventive and therapeutic dental hygiene care for teeth and adjacent tissues.

Restricted activities

5 No person other than a registrant may

(a) perform supragingival and subgingival scaling, subgingival debridement or root planing, or

(b) administer oral local anaesthetic.

Limits or conditions on services

6 (1)  No registrant may practise dental hygiene unless all of the following conditions are met:

(a) prior to or during an initial appointment, the client is examined by a dentist;

(b) at the time of any subsequent appointment, the client has been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days or within such shorter time as is necessary or appropriate in accordance with good dental hygiene practice or good dental practice;

(c) dental hygiene care is provided in accordance with any specific and appropriate instructions that may be given by a dentist.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to a registrant

(a) providing non-clinical services in a public health program, or

(b) practising in a facility or class of facility approved by the board, if the registrant

(i)  meets the additional qualifications established in the bylaws, and

(ii)  complies with subsection (3).

(3)  A registrant practising dental hygiene in a facility must

(a) advise the client to see a dentist if the client has not been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days, and

(b) notify the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia as soon as it is apparent that dental services cannot be arranged for clients in a facility.

(4)  No registrant may administer oral local anaesthetic except

(a) in circumstances where a dentist is on the site and immediately available, or

(b) in a facility if the anaesthetic has been authorized by a medical practitioner or a dentist and a person qualified to act in a medical emergency is immediately available.

Patient relations program

7 The college is designated for the purposes of section 16 (2) (f) of the Act.

Health profession corporations

8 Part 4 of the Act applies to dental hygiene.