What must Dr. Washington do if he is out of the office for four weeks and wants patients to be seen every day?

• A. He will need to appoint a temporary supervisor for the hygienists.
• B. He will need to hire another dentist to directly supervise his hygienists.
• C. He must reduce the number of patients seen daily.
• D. He must continue to supervise them remotely.

Answer: (B)

In Louisiana, dental hygienists must operate under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist who is physically present in the office for patient care to occur. If the supervising dentist is going to be away for an extended period, the only compliant way to keep patients seen daily is to have another licensed dentist on-site to directly supervise the hygienists. This ensures all procedures meet the required supervision standard and that there’s a dentist available to authorize and oversee care. Remote supervision isn’t allowed, and simply reducing patient load wouldn’t change the supervision requirement.