Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-AA by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 3, lines 13 to 23 in amendment) and inserting the following:

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-AA in subsection 3 in the last line (page 3, line 27 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " dentistry" the following: ' . An applicant who fails the clinical examination twice may not take the clinical examination again until further education and training, as specified by the board, are obtained'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-AA in subsection 4 in the first line (page 3, line 28 in amendment) by striking out the following: " 1,000" and inserting the following: ' 2,000'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-AA in subsection 4 in the last line (page 3, line 31 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " 1094-BB." the following: ' For purposes of meeting the requirements of this subsection, an applicant's hours of supervised clinical experience while enrolled in the 4-semester dental training therapy program may be included.'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-AA by renumbering the subsections to read consecutively.

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-BB in the first paragraph in the 3rd line (page 3, line 35 in amendment) by striking out the following: " 3" and inserting the following: ' 4'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-FF in the first paragraph in the first line (page 4, line 35 in amendment) by striking out the following: " 1,000" and inserting the following: ' 2,000'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-FF in the first paragraph in the 3rd line (page 4, line 37 in amendment) by striking out the following: " general" and inserting the following: ' direct'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-FF in the first paragraph in the 3rd line (page 4, line 37 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " dentist" the following: ' who is licensed in this State'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-FF in the first paragraph by striking out the last 3 lines (page 5, lines 4 to 6 in amendment) and inserting the following: ' Health and Human Services; or a private dental practice in which at least 50% of the patients who are provided services by that dental hygiene therapist are covered by the MaineCare program under Title 22 or are underserved adults.'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-GG in the first paragraph in the first line (page 5, line 8 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " under the" the following: ' direct'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-GG in the first paragraph in the 2nd line (page 5, line 9 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " this State" the following: ' , referred to in this subchapter as "the supervising dentist," '

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-GG by striking out all of subsection 1 (page 5, lines 16 to 21 in amendment)

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-GG by renumbering the subsections to read consecutively.

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-HH in the first paragraph in the 2nd line (page 6, line 19 in amendment) by striking out the following: " general" and inserting the following: ' direct'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-HH in the first paragraph in the 2nd line (page 6, line 19 in amendment) by inserting after the following: " dentist" the following: ' licensed in this State'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-KK in the first paragraph in the first line (page 7, line 19 in amendment) by striking out the following: " chapter" and inserting the following: ' subchapter'

Amend the amendment in section 7 in §1094-KK in the first paragraph in the 2nd line (page 7, line 20 in amendment) by striking out the following: " major substantive" and inserting the following: ' routine technical'

Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 8 (page 7, lines 21 to 25 in amendment) and inserting the following:

Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.

SUMMARY

This amendment makes the following changes to Committee Amendment "C":

1. It requires an applicant for a dental hygiene therapy license to meet specific education requirements, including obtaining an associate degree in dental hygiene prior to successfully completing at least 4 semesters of dental hygiene therapy training, which may be done at the same time as or consecutively with obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene, which is also required;

2. It requires the dental hygiene therapy education program to be accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. Until that accreditation is obtained, the Board of Dental Examiners may approve the dental hygiene therapy education program;

3. It increases from 1,000 to 2,000 the number of hours of supervised clinical practice required in order to obtain a dental hygiene therapy license, but allows the number of hours spent in supervised clinical practice while completing the 4-semester dental hygiene therapy training to be included in the calculation;

4. It prohibits an applicant for a license as a dental hygiene therapist who fails the clinical examination twice from taking the examination again until after the applicant has received more education and training, as specified by the Board of Dental Examiners;

5. It specifies that a dental hygiene therapist may practice only while under the direct supervision of a dentist and clarifies that the supervising dentist must be licensed to practice in Maine;

6. It removes the ability of the supervising dentist to authorize a dental hygiene therapist to provide services to a patient who has not first seen the dentist; and

7. It changes the category of rules adopted by the Board of Dental Examiners from major substantive rules to routine technical rules and requires the board to consult with dentists, dental hygienists and others before adopting the rules.