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To: Public Health and
Welfare
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Blackwell
SENATE BILL NO. 2550
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-9-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR DENTAL HYGIENISTS PRACTICING UNDER 2
GENERAL SUPERVISION; TO UPDATE CPR AND CONTINUING EDUCATION 3
REQUIREMENTS; TO AUTHORIZE DENTAL HYGIENE PRACTICE UNDER GENERAL 4
SUPERVISION IN LICENSED NURSING HOMES, INSTITUTIONS FOR THE AGED 5
OR INFIRM AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; TO ALLOW PATIENTS IN 6
LICENSED NURSING HOMES, INSTITUTIONS FOR THE AGED OR INFIRM AND 7
CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES TO BE SEEN FOUR TIMES CONSECUTIVELY UNDER 8
GENERAL SUPERVISION; TO LIMIT THE SERVICES THAT MAY BE PROVIDED IN 9
SUCH SETTINGS TO NONINVASIVE ROUTINE SERVICES; TO REVISE 10
LIMITATIONS ON SUPERVISION AND PATIENT ELIGIBILITY; AND FOR 11
RELATED PURPOSES. 12
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 13
SECTION 1. Section 73-9-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 14
amended as follows: 15
73-9-5. (1) For the purpose of this chapter, a dental 16
hygienist shall be an individual who has completed an accredited 17
dental hygiene education program, passed the national dental 18
hygiene board and is licensed by the State Board of Dental 19
Examiners to provide, as an auxiliary to the dentist, preventive 20
care services including, but not limited to, scaling and 21
polishing. In fulfilling these services, dental hygienists 22
provide treatment that helps to prevent oral disease such as 23
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dental caries and periodontal disease and for educating patients 24
in prevention of these and other dental problems. 25
(2) No person shall practice dental hygiene in a manner that 26
is separate or independent from a supervising dentist, or 27
establish or maintain an office or a practice that is primarily 28
devoted to the provision of dental hygiene services. 29
(3) Under general supervision, a dental hygienist may 30
provide to patients of record, for not more than ten (10) 31
consecutive business days, all dental hygiene services (except the 32
administration of nitrous oxide inhalation or local anesthesia, 33
which must be under direct supervision) if all of the following 34
conditions are satisfied: 35
(a) The dental hygienist has practiced dental 36
hygiene * * * for a minimum of five (5) years, such five-year 37
period having been determined by the board as equivalent to a 38
minimum of six thousand (6,000) hours of dental hygiene practice; 39
(b) The dental hygienist * * * submits evidence of 40
current CPR certification and completion within the previous 41
twelve (12) months of three (3) hours of board-approved continuing 42
dental education focused on medical emergencies, and complies with 43
the established protocols for emergencies that the supervising 44
dentist has established; 45
(c) The supervising dentist examined the patient of 46
record not more than seven (7) months before the date that the 47
dental hygienist provides the dental hygiene services; 48
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(d) The dental hygienist provides dental hygiene 49
services to the patient of record in accordance with a written 50
treatment protocol prescribed by the supervising dentist for the 51
patient; 52
(e) The patient of record is notified in advance of the 53
appointment that the supervising dentist will be absent from the 54
location; 55
(f) No licensed dental hygienist, under general 56
supervision, may delegate or supervise any dental hygiene duties 57
for a dental assistant; and 58
(g) The supervising dentist is responsible for all 59
actions of the dental hygienist during treatment of patients under 60
general supervision. 61
(4) The following limitations also apply to the practice of 62
dental hygiene under general supervision: 63
(a) No entity may employ dental hygienists to provide 64
treatment for patients of record under general supervision other 65
than: 66
(i) A nonprofit entity that meets the statutory, 67
regulatory and program requirements for grantees supported by the 68
Public Health Service and that has supervision by a Mississippi 69
licensed dentist; * * * 70
(ii) An office owned by a dentist or group of 71
dentists licensed in Mississippi * * *; 72
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(iii) A licensed nursing home as defined by 73
Section 73-17-5; 74
(iv) An institution for the aged or infirm as 75
defined by Section 43-11-1; 76
(v) A public or private prison, detention center 77
or other correctional facility; or 78
(vi) A business, organization, or entity that 79
employs or contracts with Mississippi licensed dentists and dental 80
hygienists to provide oral care in licensed nursing homes as 81
defined by Section 73-17-5 or institutions for the aged or infirm 82
as defined by Section 43-11-1, or in public or private prisons, 83
detention centers or other correctional facilities. 84
(b) No duly licensed and registered dentist shall 85
supervise more than three (3) dental hygienists under general 86
supervision at any one time. 87
* * * 88
( * * *c) No patient may be seen twice consecutively 89
under general supervision, except for patients in licensed nursing 90
homes or institutions for the aged or infirm, or in public or 91
private prisons, detention centers or other correctional 92
facilities, who may be seen four (4) times consecutively under 93
general supervision. 94
( * * *d) An examination fee must not be charged if a 95
patient is seen under general supervision. 96
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ST: Dental hygienists; revise certain
requirements for and provisions regarding
practice under general supervision.
( * * *e) The patient undergoing dental hygiene 97
services under general supervision must be a minimum of eighteen 98
(18) years of age * * *. 99
(f) In the settings described in paragraph (a)(iii) 100
through (vi) of this subsection (4), a dental hygienist practicing 101
under general supervision may provide only noninvasive routine 102
services, including oral prophylaxis, topical fluoride treatments, 103
dental sealants, oral health screenings and patient education. A 104
dental hygienist practicing under general supervision in these 105
settings shall not perform any invasive procedures, including 106
tooth scaling and root planing, or any other procedure that 107
requires the physical presence of a supervising dentist under 108
direct supervision. 109
(5) Notwithstanding the above subsections of this section, a 110
dental hygienist licensed in Mississippi may perform radiographs, 111
oral prophylaxis, and place fluoride varnish without a Mississippi 112
licensed dentist being physically present in the office if all of 113
the other conditions of this section are met. 114
* * * 115
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 116
and after July 1, 2026. 117