Oregon licenses dental therapists, permits some hygienists to work with no dentist present, and exempts denturists from dentist licensure entirely.
The Oregon Board of Dentistry runs licensing for dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists. Ten members appointed by the Governor: six dentists, two dental hygienists, two members of the public, under ORS 679.230. Its rules are OAR chapter 818, covering "dentistry, dental therapy, dental hygiene, dental assisting, and administration of anesthesia."
A degree from a school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, under ORS 679.065. Then the national board examination, a clinical examination, and a jurisprudence portion administered by the Board on Oregon law. Clinical results stay valid five years.
Renewal is every two years, and the two professions renew on different clocks: dentists by 31 March, hygienists by 30 September, under OAR 818-021-0080.
Continuing education is 40 hours per two-year cycle, with topic floors written into OAR 818-021-0060. At least three hours on medical emergencies in a dental office. At least two on infection control. At least two on cultural competency. No more than four hours of practice management may count toward the total, which is a deliberate limit on filling a cycle with business courses.
This is where Oregon diverges from most states.
Dental therapists have been licensed since 2021 under ORS 679.621. Under general supervision the scope includes "identification of conditions requiring evaluation, diagnosis or treatment" and "oral examination, evaluation and diagnosis of conditions within the supervising dentist's authorization." Under indirect supervision it includes "placement of temporary restorations" and "simple extractions of erupted posterior primary teeth." A dental therapist may supervise up to two dental assistants.
Expanded practice dental hygienists go further in one specific respect. ORS 680.205(1) lets a hygienist holding the permit render services "without the supervision of a dentist," in settings the statute lists: nursing homes, adult foster homes, residential care and mental health facilities, correctional and detention facilities, community health clinics, homebound adults, schools and nursery schools, and people below the federal poverty level, among others. The permit still requires a written collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist under OAR 818-035-0065, covering local anesthesia, temporary restorations, prescribed antibiotics and referral parameters. Qualifying takes 2,500 hours of supervised clinical practice plus 40 hours of continuing education, or a course including at least 500 hours of practice on patients.
Denturists are outside this board altogether. ORS 679.025 exempts both denturists and permit-holding expanded practice dental hygienists from the requirement to hold a dentist licence, and denturists are licensed separately by the State Board of Denture Technology.
Five classes under OAR 818-026-0035, each authorising every lesser level. Nitrous oxide, minimal sedation, moderate sedation, deep sedation, general anesthesia. Only the nitrous oxide permit is available to a dental hygienist as well as a dentist. The rest are dentist-only.
Oregon's teledentistry provision is a Medicaid payment rule rather than a practice rule. OAR 410-123-1265 sits in the Oregon Health Authority's rules, describes synchronous and asynchronous forms including store-and-forward and remote monitoring, and requires that payment "cannot distinguish between teledentistry and in-person services." No corresponding OAR 818 rule surfaced.
The Board publishes licence status through an online verification search. It publishes far less than that suggests. In the Board's own words, "complaints filed with the Board are confidential and not subject to public disclosure," and "the fact that a complaint has been filed against any licensee is not public information." Only notices of proposed disciplinary action and final orders become public record.
The Board also names what falls outside it: "the Board does not have jurisdiction over: fees, personality conflicts, rude behavior, or the scheduling of appointments." A clean verification result therefore answers one narrow question, and the things patients most often want to compare aren't in it.