The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners adopts an amendment to §114.3, relating to pit and fissure sealant certificate. The amended section is adopted with a nonsubstantive change to the proposed section name as published in the October 2, 2009, issue of the Texas Register (34 TexReg 6746) and will be republished.

The amended section is adopted to implement certain requirements imposed by Senate Bill 455 enacted by the 81st Legislature which changes the requirements for dental assistants who apply for pit and fissure sealant certification after September 1, 2009 and makes changes to the continuing education requirements for dental assistants. In accordance with the requirement of Senate Bill 455, the previous Pit and Fissure Sealant requirements contained in this section remain in effect for registrants who applied for certification before September 1, 2009. In addition, the title of this section has been changed for purposes of clarification and to indicate that the requirements of this section specifically apply to the Pit and Fissure Sealant Certificate.

The Board received two comments regarding proposed amendments to §114.3. The commenters opposed the proposed reduction in the minimum number of education hours required for a dental assistant to receive pit and fissure sealant certification.

The Board proposed amendments to §114.3 to implement legislative reductions in the minimum number of hours of education required for pit and fissure sealant certification. The Board recommends no changes.

The amendment is adopted under Texas Government Code §2001.021 et seq., and Texas Occupations Code §254.001, which provides the Board with the authority to adopt and enforce rules necessary for it to perform its duties.

The adopted amendment affects Title 3, Subtitle D of the Texas Occupations Code and Title 22, Texas Administrative Code, Part 5.