447.01 Definitions. In this chapter:

(1) “Accredited" means accredited by the American Dental Association commission on dental accreditation or its successor agency.

(1m) “Community rehabilitation program” means a nonprofit entity, county, municipality, or state or federal agency that directly provides, or facilitates the provision of, vocational rehabilitation services to individuals who have disabilities to maximize the employment opportunities, including career advancement, of such individuals.

(2) “Dental disease" means any pain, injury, deformity, physical illness or departure from complete dental health or the proper condition of the human oral cavity or any of its parts.

(3) “Dental hygiene" means the performance of educational, preventive or therapeutic dental services. “Dental hygiene" includes any of the following:

(a) Removing supragingival or subgingival calcareous deposits, subgingival cement or extrinsic stains from a natural or restored surface of or a fixed replacement for a human tooth.

(b) Deep scaling or root planing a human tooth.

(c) Conditioning a human tooth surface in preparation for the placement of a sealant and placing a sealant.

(d) Conducting a substantive medical or dental history interview or preliminary examination of a dental patient's oral cavity or surrounding structures, including the preparation of a case history or recording of clinical findings.

(e) Conducting an oral screening without the written prescription of a dentist.

(f) Participating in the development of a dental patient's dental hygiene treatment plan.

(g) Any other practice specified in the rules promulgated under s. 447.02 (1) (d).

(4) “Dental hygiene student" means an individual who is enrolled in and in regular attendance at an accredited dental hygiene school.

(5) “Dental hygienist" means an individual who practices dental hygiene.

(6) “Dental student" means an individual who is enrolled in and in regular attendance at an accredited dental school.

(7) “Dentist" means an individual who practices dentistry.

(8)

(am) “Dentistry" means the examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment, including surgery, of diseases, disorders, or conditions of the human oral cavity or its adjacent or associated tissues and structures, or of the maxillofacial area, and their impact on the human body.

(bm) A dentist licensed under this chapter may not perform dental services that are outside the scope of the dentist's relevant education, training, and experience.

(9) “Examining board" means the dentistry examining board.

(10) “Mobile dentistry program registrant" means a person registered under s. 447.058.

(12) “Remediable procedures" means patient procedures that create changes within the oral cavity or surrounding structures that are reversible and do not involve any increased health risks to the patient.

(13) “Written or oral prescription" means specific written or oral authorization by a dentist who is licensed to practice dentistry under this chapter to perform patient procedures according to a clearly defined treatment plan developed by the dentist.

History: 1989 a. 56; 1989 a. 349 ss. 4, 5, 8 to 10; 2013 a. 244, 341; 2017 a. 20.