NE Dental Jurisprudence cheat sheet

Licensure: a Nebraska dental license is issued by the Board of Dentistry; practicing without a current license or beyond its scope is grounds for discipline under the Uniform Credentialing Act.

Continuing education: Nebraska dentists must complete 30 hours of CE per two-year renewal cycle, including specific mandated topics set by the Board; CE must be board-approved and documented for audit.

Scope: a licensed dentist may diagnose, treat, prescribe, and delegate procedures to hygienists and assistants; delegation must fall within the delegate's statutory scope and the dentist retains supervision responsibility.

Prescribing: a dentist may prescribe only within the scope of dental practice and must hold a current DEA registration for controlled substances; prescribing without a patient relationship is prohibited.

Informed consent: dentists must obtain and document patient consent for treatment, including disclosure of material risks, alternatives, and the right to refuse.

Recordkeeping: patient records must be legible, dated, and retained per Nebraska statute; records are the property of the practice but patients have a right to copies.

Mandatory reporting: dentists must report suspected child abuse or neglect and must report impaired or incompetent practitioners to the Board; failure to report is a violation.

Unprofessional conduct: examples include practicing while impaired, gross negligence, fee splitting, false advertising, and abandoning a patient without notice or transfer of care.

Licensure: a dental hygienist must hold a Nebraska hygienist license and may practice only under the supervision level authorized by statute and the delegating dentist's direction.

Supervision levels: Nebraska recognizes general and direct supervision; procedures requiring direct supervision demand the dentist be physically present, while general supervision requires prior authorization and availability.

Scope: hygienists perform prophylaxis, scaling, root planing, periodontal assessment, and patient education; they may not diagnose, prescribe, or perform procedures outside statutory scope.

Local anesthesia and nitrous oxide: hygienists may administer these only after completing Board-approved training and holding the required permit; administration requires the supervision level specified by rule.

Public health/limited access: hygienists may provide services in specified settings under collaborative or public health provisions when statutory conditions are met.

Continuing education: hygienists must complete Board-required CE hours per renewal cycle, including mandated topics; proof must be retained for audit.

Delegation limits: a hygienist may not delegate to a dental assistant any procedure the assistant is not authorized to perform, and may not accept delegation beyond the hygienist's own scope.

Documentation: hygienists must record assessments, treatment provided, and patient instructions in the patient record accurately and contemporaneously.

Status: a resident dentist practices under a residency program's institutional authority; patient care is provided under the supervision of attending faculty and the program's approved protocol.

Licensure: residents must hold the license or permit required by the program and Nebraska law; a limited or temporary permit restricts practice to the training setting only.

Supervision: faculty must be available and provide the level of supervision specified by the program; residents may not perform procedures beyond their documented competence and delegated authority.

Informed consent: the resident obtains and documents consent, and must disclose that care is delivered in a teaching setting with faculty oversight.

Documentation: residents are responsible for accurate, timely records, including supervising faculty attestation where required for billing or quality review.

Prescribing: residents may prescribe only within program authorization and with required DEA registration; controlled substances require attending co-signature per program policy.

Impairment and fatigue: residents must report impairment in themselves or colleagues; practicing while impaired is unprofessional conduct regardless of training status.

Transitions of care: handoffs must include current diagnoses, pending results, and treatment plans to prevent abandonment and continuity-of-care failures.

Licensure: faculty who provide direct patient care must hold a current Nebraska license; teaching-only roles may have different requirements, but clinical supervision of patients requires licensure.

Supervisory duty: faculty are responsible for the quality of care delivered by residents and students under their supervision, including verifying competence before independent performance.

Sign-off: faculty must personally verify and document procedures performed by trainees when program or billing rules require attending attestation.

Scope: faculty may not delegate to trainees procedures beyond the trainee's authorized scope, and may not use trainees to circumvent licensure or supervision rules.

Conflicts of interest: faculty must disclose financial or personal interests in products, laboratories, or vendors used in patient care and teaching.

Evaluation integrity: faculty must provide honest, timely evaluations; falsifying competency assessments or signing off on unobserved work is unprofessional conduct.

Patient consent: faculty must ensure patients understand the teaching context, who will perform care, and their right to refuse trainee involvement.

Mandatory reporting: faculty must report trainee or colleague impairment, incompetence, or unethical conduct to the program and, where required, to the Board.

Definition: a locum tenens dentist provides temporary coverage during a regular dentist's absence; the locum must hold a current Nebraska license valid for the practice location.

Licensure: locum practice does not create a separate license category in Nebraska; the locum must meet all requirements of an active license, including CE and DEA registration if prescribing.

Scope: the locum may provide only the services the practice is authorized to offer and the locum is competent to perform; the locum is bound by the same standard of care as the absent dentist.

Patient records: the locum must review existing records, document all care provided, and ensure continuity of care and follow-up for ongoing treatment.

Prescribing: the locum may prescribe within scope but must use their own DEA registration and comply with state prescription monitoring requirements.

Supervision: the locum assumes the delegating dentist's supervisory role over hygienists and assistants during coverage and must know each delegate's authorized scope.

Contracts: locum agreements should define duration, scope, supervision responsibilities, and malpractice coverage; the locum remains personally accountable for clinical decisions.

Abandonment: the locum must not terminate coverage without reasonable notice and must ensure patients have access to care and records at the end of the assignment.

Licensure/certification: Nebraska dental assistants may practice without a license but must meet certification or training requirements for expanded functions; coronal polishing and radiography require specific credentials.

Scope: assistants perform supportive tasks such as suction, retraction, instrument transfer, and infection control; they may not diagnose, prescribe, or perform irreversible procedures.

Expanded functions: procedures such as coronal polishing, sealant placement, and radiography may be delegated only after the assistant completes Board-approved training and holds the required credential.

Supervision: assistants work under the supervision of a licensed dentist or hygienist; the supervising clinician is responsible for the assistant's delegated acts.

Radiography: an assistant may expose radiographs only if certified in dental radiography and under the supervision level required by rule.

Infection control: assistants must follow standard precautions, sterilization protocols, and OSHA/Nebraska requirements; violations may be reported and are grounds for discipline.

Documentation: assistants must accurately record procedures and patient information as directed; falsifying records is prohibited.

Delegation refusal: an assistant must refuse any delegation that exceeds their training or statutory scope and should report improper delegation to the supervising dentist or Board.