Definitions [For application of this section, see 85 Del. Laws, c. 417, § 2].
Del. Code tit. 24, § 1101
in effectFor purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Academic license” means a license issued under § 1132A of this title to a full-time director, chairperson, or attending faculty member of a hospital based dental, oral and maxillofacial surgery, or other specialty dental residency program for the purposes of teaching.
(2) “Board” means the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene established in this chapter.
(3) “Dental assistant” means any person not licensed to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in this State, who aids a dentist in the performance of generalized tasks, including chair-side aid, clerical work, reception, radiography, dental laboratory work, and any other such tasks delegated by the dentist.
(4) “Dental auxiliary personnel” means any person not licensed to practice dentistry in this State, who works in a dental office as either a dental assistant, dental hygienist, dental technician, or otherwise.
(5) “Dental hygiene assessment” means the identification of an individual’s health behaviors, attitudes, and oral health care status and needs for which a dental hygienist is educationally qualified and licensed to provide as defined by the Board.
(6) “Dental hygienist” means a person who is qualified to practice dental hygiene as prescribed in this chapter.
(7) “Dental technician” means any person not licensed to practice dentistry in this State, engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing or duplicating full dentures (“plates”), partial dentures, splints, orthodontic appliances, fixed bridges, or any other prosthetic appliances.
(8) “Dentist” means a person who is qualified to practice dentistry as prescribed in the chapter.
(9) “Direct supervision” means the dentist is physically present in the dental office or facility for the duration of the procedure, diagnoses the condition to be treated, authorizes the procedure, and examines the patient before the patient’s dismissal.
(10) “Division” means the Division of Professional Regulation.
(11) “Electronic prescription” means a prescription that is generated on an electronic application and transmitted as an electronic data file.
(12) “Excessive use or abuse of drugs” means any use of narcotics, controlled substances, or illegal drugs without a prescription from a licensed individual with valid prescriptive authority or the abuse of alcoholic beverage or prescription or nonprescription drugs, such that it impairs a person’s ability to perform the work of a dentist or dental hygienist.
(13) “Local anesthesia” means the elimination of sensations, especially pain, in 1 part of the body by the topical application or regional injection of a drug, and includes anesthesia administered using the infiltration technique and anesthesia administered using the nerve block technique.
(14) “Oral prophylaxis” means the supra- and subgingival removal of biofilm, dental calculus, and extrinsic stains from tooth and prosthetic structures to preserve oral health and prevent disease, along with the provision of patient education to promote effective oral hygiene practices and overall oral health.
(15) “Person” means a corporation, company, association, or partnership, as well as an individual.
(16) a. “Practice of dental hygiene” means the removal of calculus deposits, plaque and stains from all surfaces of the teeth, and making instrumental examinations of the oral cavity, and assembling all necessary information for use by the dentist in diagnosis and treatment planning, and the performance of such prophylactic or preventive measures in the case of teeth, including the application of chemicals to the teeth and periodontal tissues, designed and approved for the prevention of dental caries or periodontal disease, as the Board may authorize.
b. The “practice of dental hygiene” also includes all of the following:
1. Administering local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist and in accordance with requirements and standards that the Board shall establish by regulation.
2. Prescribing, administering, and dispensing topical agents as follows:
A. Administering and dispensing topical agents under the standing order of a dentist providing general supervision.
B. Prescribing, administering, and dispensing fluoride under the standing order of a dentist providing general supervision.
3. Applying sealants without the need for an examination by a dentist beforehand, provided the patient will be seen by a dentist within 12 months of receiving treatment.
4. Engaging in dental hygiene assessment and planning treatment within the scope of the authority of a dental hygienist as defined by the Board based on education and experience.
5. Providing direct access to prophylaxis without the need for an examination by a dentist beforehand, provided the patient will be seen by a dentist within 12 months of receiving treatment.
6. Exercising direct supervision of dental assistants as prescribed by regulations that the Board shall adopt.
c. The “practice of dental hygiene” does not include any other operation on the teeth or tissues of the mouth.
(17) “Practice of dentistry” means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area, and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body provided by a dentist within the scope of the dentist’s education, training, and experience, in accordance with the ethics of the profession and applicable law. A person is construed to practice dentistry who by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, opening of an office, or in any other way, including use of the words “dentist,” “dental surgeon,” the letters “D.D.S.,” “D.M.D.,” or other letters or titles, represents the person to be a dentist, or who holds oneself out as able to perform, or who does perform, dental services or work. A person is regarded as practicing dentistry who is a manager, proprietor, operator, or conductor of a place for performing dental operations or who for a fee, salary, or other reward paid, or to be paid either to oneself or to another person, performs or advertises to perform dental operations of any kind.
(18) “State” means the State of Delaware.
(19) “Substantially related” means the nature of the criminal conduct, for which the person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene.
(20) “Topical agents” means nonsystemic agents, including topical oral antimicrobial agents, fluoride, and desensitizing agents applied intraorally for the prevention and management of oral disease, for which a dental hygienist is educationally qualified and licensed to provide as defined by the Board.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title24/c011/sc01/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026