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2003 Georgia Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2003)

handle is hein.sag/sagga0037 and id is 1 raw text is: Pjrnrtuumt of iih THURBERT C. BAKER 40 CAPITOL SOUARE SW ATTORNEY GENERAL ATLANTA, DA 30334.1300 OFFICIAL OPINION 2003-1 ro: Secretary of State January 9, 2003 Re: The Georgia Board of Dentistry is authorized by O.C.G.A. § 43-11-74 to promulgate rules to permit delegating the administration of local anesthesia to dental hygienists under the supervision of a practitioner, so long as that determination is consistent with the Board's statutory obligation under its rule-making authority to protect and promote the public health and welfare of the citizens of this state and is deemed appropriate by the Board. You have asked for my official opinion whether the Georgia Board of Dentistry (hereafter the Board) is authorized under state-law to allow by rule and regulation licensed dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia. Specifically, you have asked if the Board can allow dentists to delegate the administration of local anesthesia to dental hygienists even when the anesthetic to be administered is considered a dangerous drug as defined by the Dangerous Drug Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 16-13-71 through -79, or a controlled substance as defined by the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, O.C.G.A. §§ .16-13-21 through -56. The authority of the Board to prescribe by rule or regulation those acts which may be performed by dental hygienists can be found at O.C.G.A. §4-1 1-9, which states: In order to protect and promote the public health and welfare of the citizens of this state, the board shall prescribe by rule or regulation those acts, services, procedures, and practices which may be performed by dental hygienists, dental assistants, or other persons at the direction of and under the supervision of a licensed dentist and shall impose such requirements and restrictions, including the degree of supervision required, on the performance thereof by such dental hygienists, dental assistants, and other persons as it shall deem necessary and proper. Subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 43-11-74 is specific to the scope of duties of dental hygienists: Dental hygienists shall perform their duties only under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist. No dental hygienist shall diagnose, prescribe, determine the initial dosage, or increase the initial dosage of nitrous oxide, practice dentistry or do any kind of dental work other than to remove calcareous deposits, secretions, and stains from the surfaces of the teeth, to apply ordinary wash or washes of a soothing character, and to perform those acts, services, procedures, and practices which the board shall prescribe by rule or regulation. The board shall not delegate to dental hygienists the authority to administer local anesthesia, except that this restriction shall automatically expire July 1, 1992. (Emphasis supplied.) It is my opinion that the last sentence of O.C.G.A. § 43-11-74 regarding the administration of local anesthesia by dental hygienists, and particularly the highlighted portion, sets forth the clear intention of the legislature for the Board to have authority to delegate the administration of local anesthesia to dental hygienists after July 1, 1992.

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