Dental hygienists: examinations and licensure.

Existing law, operative July 1, 2009, establishes the Dental Hygiene Committee of California in the Dental Board of California, and provides for the licensure and regulation of dental hygienists by the committee. Existing law requires the committee to license as a registered dental hygienist a person who completes an approved educational program, as specified, and who passes a clinical examination prescribed by the committee, an examination in California law and ethics prescribed by the committee, and a national written dental hygiene examination approved by the committee, with specified exemptions. This bill would instead provide that satisfactory performance on the state clinical examination, or satisfactory completion of the dental hygiene examination given by the Western Regional Examining Board or any other clinical dental hygiene examination approved by the Dental Hygiene Committee of California satisfies the clinical examination requirement for licensure as a dental hygienist. The bill would also provide that satisfactory completion of the National Dental Hygiene Board examination satisfies the national testing examination requirement for licensure as a dental hygienist.