Australian Capital Territory Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

DENTISTS ACT 1931 (REPEALED) - SECT 74

    (1)     A person who is—

        (a)     a public servant designated as a dental therapist; or

        (b)     otherwise employed or engaged by the Territory or a Territory authority as a dental therapist;

shall not carry out or perform an approved dental procedure on another person, except—

        (c)     under the direction and control of a registered dentist employed or engaged by the Territory or a Territory authority as a registered dentist; and

        (d)     as a public servant.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

    (2)     A person referred to in subsection (1) shall not carry out or perform an approved dental procedure on a person who is 17 years old or older.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

    (3)     For subsection (1), a dental therapist shall be taken to be under the direction and control of a registered dentist if the registered dentist would be available to the dental therapist within a reasonable time (having regard to the distance involved and the type of assistance required) to assist the dental therapist if assistance were required.

    (4)     In this section:

"approved dental procedure" means—

        (a)     the diagnosis and recording of dental caries or the planning and arrangement of appropriate treatment; and

        (b)     the assessment and recording of the status of oral hygiene, gingival and periodontal health, and noting of any abnormalities within the oro-facial environment; and

        (c)     the performance of other diagnostic services, including dental radiography; and

        (d)     the removal of plaque and calculus; and

        (e)     the placement of fissure sealants; and

        (f)     the recontouring, cleaning and polishing of teeth and restorations; and

        (g)     the application of topical preparations; and

        (h)     the extraction of deciduous teeth not involving incisions or other surgical techniques; and

              (i)     the performance of pulpotomies and the placement of pulp dressings in deciduous teeth; and

        (j)     the preparation of cavities in deciduous and permanent teeth and the restoration (whether short or long term) of those teeth with suitable materials; and

        (k)     the administration of local analgesia using supra periosteal infiltration or inferior dental nerve block; and

        (l)     the application and removal of rubber dams; and

        (m)     the irrigation of the mouth; and

        (n)     the provision of dental health education; and

        (o)     the capping of an exposed pulp of a permanent tooth; and

        (p)     the protection of the exposed dentine of a fractured tooth; and

        (q)     the reimplanting or repositioning and temporary stabilisation of an avulsed or loose permanent tooth.

"dental therapist" means a person who has successfully completed an Australian diploma course in dental therapy or its equivalent.