In accordance with the amendment to Miss. Code Section 73-9-5, effective July 1,2025, Dental Hygienists' who meet the eligibility requirements may register with the Board to practice under general supervision.  Initially, the application process will be a manual (paper) process.  The application may be found below. The notarized application, supporting eligibility documentations and the one-time registration fee of $25.00 must be sent to: MSBDE, 715 S. Pear Orchard Road, Suite 200, Ridgeland, MS  39157.  

Once eligibility has been determined, a Mississippi licensed dentist will be required to complete an application for the Board with a payment of a $25.00 registration fee for each dental hygienist he or she authorizes to practice under general supervision. Up to three (3) hygienists per dentist may be authorized at any time.  The application may be found below: Application to Authorize General Supervision. The notarized application and the registration fee of $25.00 per hygienist must be sent to: MSBDE, 715 S. Pear Orchard Road, Suite 200, Ridgeland, MS  39157.  

PLEASE NOTE: This is a two-step application and registration process.  The Application to Register Eligibility for Dental Hygienists must include a one-time registration fee of $25.00 for every hygienist who is requesting their eligibility to practice under general supervision to be registered with the Board.   This is the first step. 

The second step is the Application to Authorize General Supervision, which must be sent by the Mississippi licensed dentists who is authorizing the registered as eligible dental hygienists.  This application must also include a one-time payment PER hygienist being authorized.  

For questions, please contact the Board's office at 601-944-9622.  We are actively working to get this process configured in our current licensing system and all processes will be handled electronically once the system is operational.  Thank you for your patience.

RESOURCES:

Letter from MSBDE Executive Director - June 26, 2025

Miss. Code Section 73-9-5 - Dental Hygiene - Effective July 1, 2025

MSBDE Regulation 13 - Effective July 1, 2025

Application to Register Eligibility for Dental Hygienists

Application to Authorize General Supervision

Current List of Registered Dental Hygienists_07.15.2025

FAQs:

Why do I have to get my employment affidavits notarized?

While this extra step is at times a hassle, there is no other way to provide some level of validation of a paper document.  The Board is actively working with our software vendor to configure this process into our electronic licensing system. Once fully integrated, you will simply enter an email address for your former employer.  They will directly respond to an email request sent from our licensing system verifying your employment information and that response will be automatically returned directly to our licensing system.  Once this is in place, notarized letters will not be required.  Your patience and understanding are appreciated.  

Do the medical emergencies continuing education hours have to be completed prior to submitting the Application to Register Eligibility for Dental Hygienists?

While the application and payment can be submitted to the Board without the hours having been completed, the application will not be processed until the continuing education hours have been taken and have been submitted to the Board.  It is recommended that the hours are taken prior to submission of the application.

Does my active CPR-BLS Certification meet the requirement for the medical emergencies continuing education hours?

No.  CPR does not meet the requirement for three (3) hours of continuing education related to medical emergencies in a dental office.

Is there an Affidavit form for verification employment and work history?

No.  A letter from each dental employer on letterhead, signed and notarized will meet this requirement.

What if a former dental practice/dentist is no longer open?  How do I get an employment verification?

You may submit other documents which verify your employment with a dental practice such as W-2 forms or tax documents. 

I have been practicing dental hygiene for 15 years and have worked for several dentists.  Do I have to get an employment verification from every dentist?

The new law only requires verification of five (5) years of active practice of dental hygiene in Mississippi and six thousand (6,000) hours.  You are only required to verify five (5) years and six thousand (6,000) hours.

Can my supervising dentist submit the Application to Authorize General Supervision while I am waiting on my employment verifications or continuing education course to be complete?

Preferably the answer is no.  However, if a dentist were to submit the application prior to the dental hygienist being registered as eligible to practice under general supervision, the application will be held up to ninety (90) days and until such time as eligibility has been registered.  There will, however, be no refunds of the registration fee if the application to authorize general supervision is received prior to the eligibility registration of the hygienists and it is determined that the hygienist is ineligible, or the application is older than ninety (90) days. 

All changes or additions to the process for registering hygienists to practice under the general supervision of a Mississippi licensed dentist will be noted on this page.