AN ACT RELATIVE TO DENTAL HYGIENIST RECIPROCAL LICENSURE
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
The first paragraph of section 51 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The board may examine a person of good moral character who is not less than 19 years of age, upon the payment of a fee determined annually by the secretary of administration and finance pursuant to section 3B of chapter 7, in subjects considered essential for a dental hygienist and, if the results of the person’s examination are satisfactory, the person shall be registered as a dental hygienist and be given a certificate allowing them to practice dental hygiene if they are: (i) a graduate of a school for dental hygienists that: (A) is accredited or recognized as accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association; and (B) requires a course of not less than 1 academic year that is approved by the board; (ii) a full-time dental student who has satisfactorily completed not less than 4 full semesters in an accredited dental college; (iii) a graduate from an accredited dental college who has not previously been examined by the board in subjects considered by the board to be essential for a dental hygienist; or (iv) a dentist who has obtained not less than 5 years of lawful practice in a foreign country or province and who presents to the board a certificate of registration and duration of practice from the foreign country or province’s board of registration of dentistry or equivalent entity; provided, however, that such other jurisdictions shall require a degree of competency determined by the board to be comparable to that required of examinees in the commonwealth.
Approved, January 10, 2025.