LAC 46:XXXIII.1711. Examination of Dental Hygienists

A. An applicant shall be entitled to take the examinations required in this Section to practice dental hygiene in this state if such applicant: 1. is 18 years of age or older; 2. is of good moral character; 3. is a graduate of a dental hygiene college or school approved by the board or accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency; and 4. has successfully completed the national board dental hygiene examination as administered by the American Dental Association. B. To be licensed as a dental hygienist in this state, an applicant must successfully complete the following: 1. a written examination on the jurisprudence and ethics of the state regulating the practice of dental hygiene; and 2. the clinical examination administered by the Louisiana state Board of Dentistry approved testing agency. This agency will be named by the board and this relationship may be changed or amended as deemed necessary by the board. C. Examination scores are valid for initial licensure for three years following the candidate’s successful completion of an accepted licensing examination. The examination accepted by the Louisiana state Board of Dentistry for initial licensure by examination is the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) dental hygiene examination. D. The board is expressly authorized to utilize the services of other licensed dentists to facilitate the examination. E. No clinical licensing examination may be conducted in the state of Louisiana without the written permission from the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry. For permission to be granted, the agency conducting the examination must have at least four current members of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry participating in the clinical licensing examination. F. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary or any examination manual of any of the testing agencies, no candidate for licensure in the state of Louisiana will be granted same if said candidate has failed any clinical licensing examination for a total of three times. This number includes the accumulation of all examinations taken regardless of the testing agency. A make-up examination counts as an examination. This prohibition may be overcome if the applicant meets all of the other requirements of this Rule, including the successful completion of an initial licensure examination that included procedures on a live patient, has been actively practicing with an unrestricted Louisiana Administrative Code August 2023 48 license for five years in another state as defined in R.S. 37:751(A)2 and, if deemed necessary, meets in person with the full board.