By Anne Blythe July 31, 2019 North Carolina Health News
Hygienists in North Carolina have been lobbying for years to be able to clean teeth, take X-rays, check gum health and apply sealants when a dentist is not on-site with them.
At long last, they seem to be one step closer to being able to do just that in certain schools, elder care facilities and special-needs centers in some parts of the state.
The N.C. Board of Dental Examiners recently endorsed a rule change that could give hygienists a slightly broader scope of practice in one of the most restrictive states in the country.
That proposal must survive a months-long process that calls for review by legislative staff, public comment periods, hearings and a rules commission review before troops of hygienists can fan out to underserved regions of the state.
If all that happens, other counties could build on a public-private partnership experiment started two years ago in Edgecombe and Halifax counties.
