Organization: Mississippi Dental Hygienists’ Association (MDHA)

Topic: General Supervision of Dental Hygienists (RDH)

During the legislative session of 2017, the number of states that moved from direct supervision to general supervision changed to 48 out of 50 states.

As of July 2017, Mississippi is the only* state in the nation with graduates from accredited dental hygiene programs who work under direct supervision of dentists after graduation. 

The MDHA endorses the position that general supervision of RDHs should be the rule of law rather than direct supervision.  As the Mississippi statute 73-9-5 currently states, a dental hygienist must work under direct supervision of a dentist, which means that the dentist must be physically present in the facility in order for a dental hygienist to provide preventive care.  Board Regulation 13 further defining direct supervision written by the Mississippi Board of Dental Examiners (MSBDE) states that a dentist must:

• Be physically present in the dental office or treatment facility,
• Personally diagnose the condition to be treated,
•  Authorize the procedures to be performed,
•  Remain in the dental office or treatment facility while the procedures are being performed by the auxiliary, and
• Evaluate the performance of the dental auxiliary.

General supervision of RDHs specifies that a supervising dentist authorizes his or her licensed dental hygienist to perform preventive procedures, but is not required to be physically present.  But general supervision requirements wouldn’t stop there.  Additional stipulations must be met in order for RDHs to work without the physical presence of a dentist, including requiring:

• That the RDH has a year (or 1,600 hours) of patient treatment experience
• Current CPR Certification
• Adhering to medical emergency written protocols established by the dentist
• That the dentist has diagnosed and examined the patient within 11 months prior to the appointment
• That patients are notified in advance that the dentist will not be on site, and the dental hygienist cannot diagnose any dental conditions,
• That the RDH cannot practice dental hygiene for more than a set number of consecutive days; and
• That RDHs provide proof of liability insurance to the MSBDE.

There are many reasons the MDHA supports a change from direct to general supervision, including:

1.     Dental hygienists earn college degrees (Associate’s or Bachelor’s) from an institute of higher learning accredited by the American Dental Association’s Council on Dental Accreditation.  In fact, each Mississippi RDH graduating from an accredited institution must be successful in the exact same educational standards as the RDHs licensed in states practicing general supervision.

General supervision of RDHs is a proven long-standing practice in virtually every state.  Educational requirements for Mississippi RDHs are identical for RDHs in states practicing under general supervision. It’s also of note that dentists opposed to allowing an RDH to provide preventive care under general supervision would never be forced to do so.

Finally, to alleviate thoughts that general supervision is synonymous with independent practice, the Mississippi Dental Hygienists’ Association asserts:

• Independent practice is not the same as general supervision,

• Independent practice requires no supervision and direction from others (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary) while general supervision requires multiple levels of supervision

• MDHA is not advocating for ANY type of independent practice, and

• MDHA is not advocating for ANY type of mid-level provider.

  Please contact us for any questions or comments at mdha@live.com and we will personally respond.

*although Alabama has 2 accredited dental hygiene programs, dental hygienists are not statutorily required to graduate in order to practice dental hygiene.

Click here to read the letter of support from the Mississippi Dental Society