Definitions

1   In this regulation:

"Act" means the Health Professions Act;

"compound" means to mix with one or more other ingredients;

"dental appliance" means an appliance or a device designed or offered for a dental condition or other condition of the orofacial complex, excluding a mouthguard designed or offered for temporary protection against injury during sporting activities;

"dentistry" means the health profession in which a person provides the services of assessment, management, treatment and prevention of diseases, disorders and conditions of the orofacial complex and associated anatomical structures;

"dispense",

(a) in respect of a drug, has the same meaning as in the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act, but excludes a sale, as defined in that Act, and

(b) in respect of a dental appliance, means to make, alter or provide;

"enteral instillation" means instillation directly into the gastrointestinal tract;

"fit" means to perform any intra-oral procedure related to dispensing a dental appliance, including the making of impressions;

"parenteral instillation" means instillation directly into the blood stream;

"prescribe" means,

(a) in respect of a drug, to issue a "prescription" as defined in the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act, and

(b) in respect of a dental appliance, to issue an authorization to dispense the dental appliance for use by a named individual;

"substance" includes air and water, but excludes a drug specified in Schedule I, IA, II or IV of the Drug Schedules Regulation, B.C. Reg. 9/98.

[am. B.C. Regs. 32/2020, Sch. 3, s. 1; 172/2022, Sch. 3, s. 1.]

College name

1.1   The name of the college responsible for carrying out the objects of the Act in respect of dentistry is "British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals".

[en. B.C. Reg. 172/2022, Sch. 3, s. 2.]

Reserved titles

2   (1) The following titles are reserved for exclusive use by registrants:

(a) dentist;

(b) dental surgeon;

(c) surgeon;

(d) doctor;

(e) dental therapist.

(2) This section does not prevent a person from using

(a) the title "surgeon" or "doctor" in a manner authorized by another enactment that regulates a health profession, or

(b) an academic or educational designation that the person is entitled to use.

[am. B.C. Reg. 189/2014.]

Scope of practice

3   A registrant may practise dentistry.

Restricted activities

4   (1) A registrant in the course of practising dentistry may do any of the following:

(a) make a diagnosis identifying, as the cause of signs or symptoms of an individual, a disease, disorder or condition of the orofacial complex and associated anatomical structures;

(b) perform a procedure on tissue of the orofacial complex and associated anatomical structures below the dermis or the surface of a mucous membrane;

(c) perform a procedure on tissue below the dermis for the purpose of removing tissue for use in reconstructive or other surgery on the orofacial complex and associated anatomical structures;

(d) perform a procedure on tissue in or below the surfaces of the teeth, including scaling, dental debridement and root planing;

(e) set a fracture of a bone of the orofacial complex;

(f) reduce a dislocation of a joint of the orofacial complex;

(g) administer a substance by

(i) injection,

(ii) inhalation,

(iii) mechanical ventilation,

(iv) irrigation, or

(v) enteral instillation or parenteral instillation;

(h) put an instrument or a device, hand or finger

(i) into the external ear canal, up to the eardrum,

(ii) beyond the point in the nasal passages where they normally narrow,

(iii) beyond the pharynx,

(iv) beyond the opening of the urethra for the purposes of catheterization,

(v) beyond the anal verge for the purposes of monitoring temperature, or

(vi) into an artificial opening into the body;

(i) put into the external ear canal, up to the eardrum, a substance that is under pressure;

(j) apply

(i) ultrasound, for

(A) diagnostic or imaging purposes, excluding any application of ultrasound to a fetus, or

(B) the purpose of lithotripsy, in treating a disease, disorder or condition of the orofacial complex and associated anatomical structures,

(ii) electricity, for the purpose of destroying tissue or affecting activity of the heart or nervous system,

(iii) electromagnetism, for the purpose of magnetic resonance imaging,

(iv) laser, for the purpose of cutting or destroying tissue, or

(v) X-rays, for diagnostic or imaging purposes, including X-rays for the purpose of computerized axial tomography;

(k) issue an instruction or authorization for another person to perform, in respect of a named individual, a restricted activity specified in paragraph (j);

(l) in respect of a drug specified in Schedule I, IA or II of the Drug Schedules Regulation, B.C. Reg. 9/98,

(i) prescribe the drug,

(ii) compound the drug,

(iii) dispense the drug, or

(iv) administer the drug by any method;

(m) if nutrition is administered by enteral instillation, dispense a therapeutic diet;

(n) prescribe a dental appliance;

(o) dispense or fit a dental appliance;

(p) conduct challenge testing for allergies

(i) that involves injection, scratch tests or inhalation, if the individual being tested has not had a previous anaphylactic reaction, or

(ii) by any method, if the individual being tested has had a previous anaphylactic reaction.

(2) Only a registrant who is a dentist may provide a service that includes the performance of an activity set out in subsection (1).

[am. B.C. Reg. 32/2020, Sch. 3, s. 2.]

Patient relations program

5   The college is designated for the purposes of section 16 (2) (f) of the Act.

Health profession corporations

6   Part 4 of the Act applies to dentistry.