Code of Virginia
Chapter 27 - Dentistry
§ 54.1-2712. Permissible practices

The following activities shall be permissible:
1. Dental assistants or dental hygienists aiding or assisting licensed dentists, or dental assistants aiding or assisting dental hygienists under the general supervision of a dentist in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to § 54.1-2729.01;
2. The performance of mechanical work on inanimate objects only, for licensed dentists, by any person employed in or operating a dental laboratory;
3. Dental students who are enrolled in accredited D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree programs performing dental operations, under the direction of competent instructors (i) within a dental school or college, dental department of an institution of higher education, or other dental facility within an institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; (ii) in a dental clinic operated by a nonprofit organization providing indigent care; (iii) in governmental or indigent care clinics in which the student is assigned to practice during his final academic year rotations; (iv) in a private dental office for a limited time during the student's final academic year when under the direct tutorial supervision of a licensed dentist holding appointment on the dental faculty of the school in which the student is enrolled; or (v) practicing dental hygiene in a private dental office under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist holding appointment on the dental faculty of the school in which the student is enrolled;
4. A licensed dentist from another state or country appearing as a clinician for demonstrating technical procedures before a dental society or organization, convention, or dental college, or performing his duties in connection with a specific case on which he may have been called to the Commonwealth;
5. Dental hygiene students enrolled in an accredited dental hygiene program performing dental hygiene practices as a requisite of the program, under the direction of competent instructors, as defined by regulations of the Board of Dentistry, (i) within a dental hygiene program in a dental school or college, or department thereof, or other dental facility within an institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; (ii) in a dental clinic operated by a nonprofit organization providing indigent care; (iii) in a governmental or indigent care clinic in which the student is assigned to practice during his final academic year rotations; or (iv) in a private dental office for a limited time during the student's final academic year when under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist or licensed dental hygienist holding appointment on the dental faculty of the school in which the student is enrolled; and
6. A graduate of an accredited dental program or a graduate of an accredited dental hygiene program engaging in clinical practice under the supervision of a licensed faculty member, but only while participating in a continuing education course offered by a dental program or dental hygiene program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.
Code 1950, § 54-147; 1970, c. 639; 1972, c. 805; 1975, c. 479; 1985, c. 373; 1988, c. 765; 1989, c. 131; 1994, c. 749; 2004, c. 754; 2005, cc. 505, 587; 2008, cc. 84, 264; 2012, cc. 20, 116.

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