Regulation BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 134/2025, effective April 1, 2026.
| B.C. Reg. 276/2008 M236/2008 | Deposited October 15, 2008 effective October 17, 2008 |
Health Professions Act
Dental Hygienists Regulation
| Contents | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Definitions | |
| 2 | College name | |
| 3 | Reserved title | |
| 4 | Scope of practice | |
| 5 | Restricted activities | |
| 6 | Limits or conditions on services | |
| 7 | Patient relations program | |
| 8 | Health profession corporations | |
Definitions
1 In this regulation:
"Act" means the Health Professions Act;
"dental hygiene" means the health profession in which a person provides the services of
(a) assessing the status of teeth and adjacent tissues, and
(b) providing preventive and therapeutic treatment for teeth and adjacent tissues;
"dental hygiene diagnosis" means a clinical judgment made by a registrant of an individual's oral health condition to determine whether
(a) the condition can be ameliorated or resolved by services that the registrant is authorized to provide, or
(b) consultation with, or transfer of responsibility for care to, another health professional is necessary or appropriate;
"dentist" means a person who is authorized under the Act to practise the designated health profession of dentistry;
"prescription" has the same meaning as in the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act;
"substance" includes air and water but excludes a drug specified in Schedule I, IA, II or IV of the Drug Schedules Regulation.
[am. B.C. Reg. 32/2020, Sch. 1, s. 1.]
College name
2 The name of the college responsible for carrying out the objects of the Act in respect of dental hygiene is "British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals".
[en. B.C. Reg. 172/2022, Sch. 1.]
Scope of practice
4 A dental hygienist may practise dental hygiene.
[en. B.C. Reg. 32/2020, Sch. 1, s. 2.]
Restricted activities
5 (1) A registrant in the course of practising dental hygiene may do all of the following:
(a) make a dental hygiene diagnosis identifying gingivitis or periodontitis as the cause of the signs or symptoms of an individual;
(b) perform scaling, dental debridement or root planing on the surfaces of the teeth for the purpose of preventing or treating an oral health condition;
(c) administer a substance by irrigation for the purpose of preventing or treating an oral health condition;
(d) reduce a complete dislocation of a temporomandibular joint using manual therapy.
(2) If standards, limits or conditions have been established under section 19 (1) (k) or (l) of the Act respecting the activity, a registrant in the course of practising dental hygiene may, during assessment and for diagnostic or imaging purposes, apply
(b) extra-oral X-rays for the purpose of implementing an authorization, issued by a person who is authorized under the Act to apply extra-oral X-rays, to do so in respect of a named individual.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), a registrant in the course of practising dental hygiene may administer a drug specified in Schedule I or II of the Drug Schedules Regulation for the purpose of
(a) treating an oral health condition, if administration is by topical application or irrigation, or
(b) providing oral local anaesthesia,
(i) if administration is by injection or topical application, and
(ii) if, before providing the service, the registrant has successfully completed a certification program established, required or approved under the bylaws to ensure that registrants are qualified and competent to provide that service.
(4) A registrant in the course of practising dental hygiene may not administer a drug for which a prescription is required under the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act unless the patient has a prescription for the drug.
(5) Only a registrant who is a dental hygienist may provide a service that includes the performance of an activity set out in this section.
[en. B.C. Reg. 32/2020, Sch. 1, s. 2.]
Limits or conditions on services
6 (1) In this section, "private dental hygiene practice" means the practice of dental hygiene in circumstances where, ordinarily, a dentist is not on site or immediately available.
(2) A registrant who is a dental hygienist may not engage in private dental hygiene practice unless standards, limits or conditions respecting private dental hygiene practice have first been established under section 19 (1) (k) or (l) of the Act.
(3) A registrant who engages in private dental hygiene practice must, in the course of providing dental hygiene services to a patient, recommend that the patient be examined by a dentist unless the dental hygienist
(a) has reason to believe that the patient has recently been examined by a dentist, or
(b) has recently recommended to the patient that the patient be examined by a dentist.
(4) A registrant must not perform permanent restoration procedures.
(5) A registrant may perform the restricted activity described in section 5 (1) (d) only if dislocation occurs in the course of practising dental hygiene.
[en. B.C. Reg. 32/2020, Sch. 1, s. 2.]
Patient relations program
7 The college is designated for the purposes of section 16 (2) (f) of the Act.
[Provisions relevant to the enactment of this regulation: Health Professions Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 183, s. 12 (2).]
Section 1 definitions of "dental hygiene", "dental hygiene diagnosis", "prescription" and "substance" were added by BC Reg 32/2020, effective February 24, 2020.
Section 1 definition of "dentist" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 32/2020, effective February 24, 2020.
"dentist" means a person authorized under the Dentists Act to practise dentistry;
Section 1 definition of "facility" BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 32/2020, effective February 24, 2020.
"facility" means
(a) a community care facility or an assisted living residence licensed or registered under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act,
(b) a hospital designated under the Hospital Act, or
(c) a Provincial mental health facility designated under the Mental Health Act that provides residential care to persons unable to readily access dental services in the community.
Section 6 (2) and (3) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 75/2012, effective July 3, 2012.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a registrant
(a) providing non-clinical services in a public health program, or
(b) practising in a facility or class of facility approved by the board, if the registrant
(i) meets the additional qualifications established in the bylaws, and
(ii) complies with subsection (3).
(3) A registrant practising dental hygiene in a facility must
(a) advise the client to see a dentist if the client has not been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days, and
(b) notify the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia as soon as it is apparent that dental services cannot be arranged for clients in a facility.
Section 6 BEFORE re-enacted by BC Reg 32/2020, effective February 24, 2020.
Limits or conditions on services
6 (1) No registrant may practise dental hygiene unless all of the following conditions are met:
(a) prior to or during an initial appointment, the client is examined by a dentist;
(b) at the time of any subsequent appointment, the client has been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days or within such shorter time as is necessary or appropriate in accordance with good dental hygiene practice or good dental practice;
(c) dental hygiene care is provided in accordance with any specific and appropriate instructions that may be given by a dentist.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a registrant
(a) who provides non-clinical services in a public health program, or
(i) is a member of a class of registrants established by the bylaws for this purpose, and
(ii) complies with subsection (3).
(3) If a client has not been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days, a registrant described in subsection (2) (b) must recommend to the client that the client have an examination by a dentist.
(4) No registrant may administer oral local anaesthetic except
(a) in circumstances where a dentist is on the site and immediately available, or
(b) in a facility if the anaesthetic has been authorized by a medical practitioner or a dentist and a person qualified to act in a medical emergency is immediately available.
[am. B.C. Reg. 75/2012.]