Board of Dentistry Rules and Regulations Governing Dental Hygiene Practice
Domain 4 tests the operational rules that govern a hygiene chair day to day - documentation of supervision, delegation limits, advertising, fees, and office standards.
Supervision must be provable
A regulator reading the chart should be able to see who authorized what. That means a dated dentist examination, an entry showing authorization, and hygienist chart entries that identify the hygienist and the procedure. Verbal authorization with no record is the most common documentation failure.
Delegation cuts both ways
Only tasks the Board permits may be delegated, and only to the category of personnel the rule names. A dentist who tells an uncertified assistant to scale has violated the rules; a hygienist who facilitates or covers for it is equally exposed.
Advertising, names, and fees
- Practice names and advertising must not be false or misleading; result guarantees and unverifiable specialty claims are prohibited.
- Fee splitting with non-licensees and billing for services not rendered are violations.
- The office must hold required emergency equipment and supplies, and maintain sterilization and records standards.
Administrative duties
Keep the Board informed of address and name changes, display the license as required, and respond to Board correspondence - ignoring a Board inquiry itself becomes a disciplinary ground.
Worked example
The dentist asks the hygienist to let an uncertified assistant use the ultrasonic scaler during lunch so the schedule stays on time. Analysis: ultrasonic scaling is not delegable to that assistant. The hygienist should decline to hand over the instrument and state the rule, because "the dentist told me to" is not a defense to aiding an out-of-scope act.
Traps
Believing delegation is the dentist's problem alone, and assuming an office policy manual can override an N.J.A.C. 13:30 requirement.