Utilization Standards for Local Anesthesia Delivery by Nondentists

Even though dental hygienists have been administering local anesthesia for more than 40 years, there is still no consensus on national education standards or utilization guidelines.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading this course, the participant should be able to:

1. Explain the barriers to reaching a national consensus on the administration of local anesthesia by dental hygienists, including variances in required hours of instruction.
2. Discuss the role of state dental boards in establishing regulations for local anesthesia administration (LAA).
3. Describe the levels of supervision that may be required for dental hygienists during LAA.

This course was issued in the November 2016 issue and expires 11/30/19. The authors have no commercial conflicts of interest to disclose. This 2 credit hour self-study activity is electronically mediated.