Dental services: long-term health care facilities.

Existing law generally requires the State Department of Public Health to license, inspect, and regulate health facilities, including long-term health care facilities, as defined. Existing law authorizes dental services, as defined under the Dental Practice Act, to be provided in health facilities by persons licensed by the Dental Board of California. The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensing, regulation, and discipline of, among others, registered dental hygienists in alternative practice. This bill would provide that a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice may provide dental hygiene services to a patient in a long-term care facility, as defined. The bill would also authorize a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice to provide oral health inservice training to staff in a long-term health care facility.