State Board Adopts Licensure Rule, Returns Anesthesia Rule to Committee

October 23, 2009

On Wednesday, the State Board of Dental Examiners (SBDE) met to consider proposed revisions to its licensure and anesthesia rules.

The Board adopted proposed changes to the licensure reinstatement rule with minor amendments for clarification. The revisions improve consistency across licensees and type of licensure, and give more flexibility in reinstatement of lapsed licenses than previously had been allowed. This revision applies only to dentists and dental hygienists whose licenses have lapsed.

Discussions continued on the rule proposal that would modify the anesthesia permit structure.

Prior to the hearing, the State Board made a number of revisions to the rule proposal, addressing many of the concerns that had been expressed by CDA members. However, there were several outstanding concerns and a number of dentists attended the public hearing to request additional modifications. Primary concerns addressed in testimony included:

The sufficiency of training requirements for pediatric sedation
The necessity and benefit of EKG equipment for patients without known risk factors
Subjectivity in the existing rule definitions of sedation levels
The requirement for practitioners to use IV access during moderate sedation, as opposed to having parenteral access immediately available
The absence of a patient monitoring section in the rule (currently the rule mandates the presence of certain equipment and require practitioners to document measurements based on use of the equipment, but there are no actual requirements to use the equipment to monitor patients)
The need to elaborate on required training and skills of assistants

The Board sent the rule back to committee in response to these concerns. The rule is expected to be reconsidered by the Board at its January 2010 meeting.

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