SECTION 114.1. Permitted Duties

(a) A dentist may delegate to a dental assistant the authority to perform only acts or procedures that are reversible. An act or procedure that is reversible is capable of being reversed or corrected.

(b) A dentist may not delegate or otherwise authorize a dental assistant to perform any task for which a certificate or additional training is required under this section, unless the dental assistant holds the required certificate or has obtained the additional training.

(c) A dental assistant may perform tasks under a dentist's general or direct supervision. For the purposes of this section:

(1) "General supervision" means that the dentist employs or is in charge of the dental assistant and is responsible for supervising the services to be performed by the dental assistant. The dentist may or may not be present on the premises when the dental assistant performs the procedures.

(2) "Direct supervision" means that the dentist employs or is in charge of the dental assistant and is physically present in the office when the task is performed. Physical presence does not require that the supervising dentist be in the treatment room when the dental assistant performs the service as long as the dentist is in the dental office.

(d) The dentist shall remain responsible for any delegated act.

(e) The clinical tasks that a dental assistant can perform under general supervision are limited to:

(1) the making of dental x-rays in compliance with the Occupations Code, §265.001; and

(2) the provision of interim treatment of a minor emergency dental condition to an existing patient of the treating dentist in accordance with the Occupations Code, §265.003(a-1). For purposes of this paragraph only, "existing patient" means a patient that the supervising dentist has examined in the twelve (12) months prior to the interim treatment. A treating dentist who delegates the provision of interim treatment of a minor emergency condition to a dental assistant shall schedule a follow-up appointment with the patient within 30 days. It is not a violation if the dentist makes a good faith attempt to schedule a follow-up appointment with the patient within 30 days but is unable to because of circumstances outside the dentist's control and those circumstances are clearly noted in the patient's record.

Source Note: The provisions of this §114.1 adopted to be effective February 20, 1992, 17 TexReg 1095; amended to be effective December 3, 1997, 22 TexReg 11679; amended to be effective May 10, 2004, 29 TexReg 4479; amended to be effective November 27, 2005, 30 TexReg 7743; amended to be effective February 2, 2010, 35 TexReg 635; amended to be effective December 28, 2014, 39 TexReg 10015; amended to be effective March 18, 2018, 43 TexReg 1437; amended to be effective March 16, 2023, 48 TexReg 1448