Section 11.9. Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner.--(a) Public Health dental hygiene practitioners must satisfy and shall be certified by the board upon meeting the following criteria:
(1) Met the requirements for a dental hygienist license and successfully passed the required examination for a dental hygienist.
(2) Completion of three thousand six hundred hours of practice under the supervision of a licensed dentist.
(3) Purchase of a malpractice policy in an amount determined to be adequate by the board.
(b) The professional practice of a public health dental hygiene practitioner shall be limited to the following practice sites:
(1) Schools.
(2) Correctional facilities.
(3) "Health care facility" as defined in section 802.1 of the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known as the "Health Care Facilities Act."
(4) "Personal care home" as defined in section 1001 of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the "Public Welfare Code."
(5) "Domiciliary care" as defined in section 2202-A of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
(6) An "older adult daily living center" as defined in section 2 of the act of July 11, 1990 (P.L.499, No.118), known as the "Older Adult Daily Living Centers Licensing Act."
(7) A "facility" as defined in section 3 of the act of June 18, 1984 (P.L.391, No.82), known as the "Continuing-Care Provider Registration and Disclosure Act."
(8) A federally qualified health center.
(9) A public or private institution under the jurisdiction of a Federal, State or local agency.
(10) Other locations the board deems appropriate. ((10) amended Nov. 4, 2015, P.L.226, No.60)
(c) The public health dental hygiene practitioner shall refer the patient to a licensed dentist on an annual basis. The failure to see a dentist as referred shall not prevent the patient from continuing to receive treatment from the public health dental hygiene practitioner.
(d) A school dental hygienist who is licensed as a public health dental hygiene practitioner and who, as a certified education specialist, is required to obtain continuing professional education under this act and under section 1205.2 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the "Public School Code of 1949," shall be permitted to submit evidence of the completion of education courses approved for their certification by the school district.
(11.9 added July 20, 2007, P.L.327, No.51)
Compiler's Note: The short title of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public Welfare Code, referred to in this section, was amended by the act of December 28, 2015 (P.L.500, No.92). The amended short title is now the Human Services Code.