Can a licensed dental hygienist administer local anesthesia in Louisiana without a permit?

• A. False; a permit is always required.
• B. False; local anesthesia cannot be administered by hygienists.
• C. True, if they are a graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program.
• D. True; they must also obtain a separate permit.

Answer: (C)

In Louisiana, the ability to administer local anesthesia by a dental hygienist hinges on the education path they completed. If a hygienist is a graduate of an accredited dental hygiene program, that program’s training meets the state’s requirements for local anesthesia administration, so they can perform this function without needing a separate permit. The credential from an accredited program demonstrates the necessary competency, and supervision rules still apply in practice.

So, the statement is true because an accredited-program graduate already satisfies the training standard for local anesthesia administration, making an additional permit unnecessary in that scenario. The other choices don’t fit because they either imply a blanket permit requirement or deny that hygienists can administer anesthesia under the described educational pathway.