N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 61.13 – Practice of registered dental assisting.

(a) The practice of registered dental assisting shall be that practice defined in section 6608 of the Education Law. In accordance with section 6608 of the Education Law, the practice of registered dental assisting must be supportive services to a licensed dentist in the dentist's performance of dental services and must be performed under the direct personal supervision of a licensed dentist. For purposes of this section, under the direct personal supervision of a licensed dentist shall mean supervision of dental procedures based on instructions given by a licensed dentist in the course of a procedure who remains in the dental office where the supportive services are being performed, personally diagnoses the condition to be treated, personally authorizes the procedures, and before dismissal of the patient, who remains the responsibility of the licensed dentist, evaluates the services performed by the registered dental assistant. Such practice shall include the dental supportive service prescribed in subdivision (b) of this section and shall exclude the dental supportive services prescribed in subdivision (c) of this section.
(b) The practice of registered dental assisting shall include the following supportive services to a licensed dentist while under the direct personal supervision of the licensed dentist:
1. (1) providing patient education;
2. (2) taking preliminary medical histories and vital signs to be reviewed by the dentist;
3. (3) placing and removing rubber dams;
4. (4) selecting and prefitting provisional crowns;
5. (5) selecting and prefitting orthodontic bands;
6. (6) removing orthodondic arch wires and ligature ties;
7. (7) placing and removing matrix bands;
8. (8) taking impressions for study casts or diagnostic casts;
9. (9) removing periodontal dressings;
10. (10) removal of sutures placed by a licensed dentist;
11. (11) taking impressions for space maintainers, orthodontic appliances, and occlusal guards;
12. (12) removing temporary cement;
13. (13) applying topical anticariogenic agents to the teeth;
14. (14) applying desensitizing agents to the teeth;
15. (15) placing and removing temporary separating devices;
16. (16) placing orthodontic ligatures;
17. (17) taking X-rays in accordance with the requirements of section 3515(4)(c) of the Public Health Law; and
18. (18) other dental supportive services authorized by the licensed dentist while the registered dental assistant is under the direct personal supervision of the licensed dentist, provided that such other dental supportive services are not excluded in subdivision (c) of this section.
(c) Excluded dental supportive services. The practice of registered dental assisting shall not include the following dental supportive services:
1. (1) diagnosing;
2. (2) performing surgical procedures;
3. (3) performing irreversible procedures;
4. (4) performing procedures that would alter the hard or soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial area;
5. (5) dental supportive services prescribed in section 61.9 of this Part which are services that a dental hygienist may perform, unless such services are expressly permitted as dental supportive services in paragraphs (b)(1) through (17) of this section; and
6. (6) such dental supportive services that a registered dental assistant would not reasonably be qualified to perform based upon meeting the requirements for certification as a registered dental assistant in section 6608-b of the Education Law, and/or obtaining additional legally authorized experience in the practice of registered dental assisting.
(d) In accordance with section 29.1(b)(9) and (10) of this Title, a registered dental assistant is not permitted to provide dental supportive services that the registered dental assistant knows or has reason to know that he or she is not competent to perform, and a licensed dentist is not permitted to delegate to a registered dental assistant dental supportive services the licensed dentist knows or has reason to know that the registered dental assistant is not qualified by training, experience or by licensure to perform.