Yes, in some form, everywhere.
The ADHA's Dental Hygiene Practice Act Overview (8.24.26 update) lists at least one permitted supervision level for scaling and root planing in all 51 jurisdictions it tracks — the 50 states plus DC.
What differs enormously by state is how independently a hygienist may perform it, from Direct supervision (dentist must be present) to Direct Access (hygienist determines on their own).
Always confirm your exact state's current rule with its dental board.
The short answer
Scaling and root planing — the deep cleaning that treats gum disease by removing plaque and tartar above and below the gumline — is listed as permitted hygienist scope in every one of the 51 jurisdictions the ADHA's Practice Act Overview tracks.
There's no state where this function's row shows a flat "-" (not listed).
What differs by state is how much dentist involvement is required to perform it: some states require the dentist physically present, others only require authorization in advance, and a few let a hygienist provide it entirely on their own assessment.
Informational only — confirm with your state board
How the chart defines each supervision level
The codes in the table below come straight from the chart's own legend, not a paraphrase.
Four levels cover almost every state's listing for this function, plus a fifth that shows up only in combination:
- D — Direct: the dentist needs to be present.
- ID — Indirect: the dentist must authorize the procedure and be in the dental office while it's performed.
- G — General: the dentist needs to authorize the service in advance but need not be present.
- A — Direct Access: the hygienist can provide the service as they determine appropriate, without specific prior authorization.
- CP — Collaborative Practice: the hygienist may practice without supervision, under a collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist.
Where a state's cell lists more than one letter — like Alaska's G/A/CP or Indiana's D/G/A — that's more than one separate supervision setting (commonly private vs. public practice), never a range and never one simplified into the other.
Quote the cell exactly as the chart lists it.
Scaling and root planing supervision, by state
The full row for this function, exactly as the ADHA Practice Act Overview lists it as of the 8.24.26 update.
Codes are defined above; a multi-letter code means multiple listed settings, not a range.
| State | ADHA supervision code |
|---|---|
| Alabama | D |
| Alaska | G/A/CP |
| Arizona | G |
| Arkansas | ID |
| California | G/A |
| Colorado | A |
| Connecticut | G |
| Delaware | G |
| District of Columbia | G |
| Florida | G |
| Georgia | D |
| Hawaii | D/G |
| Idaho | G |
| Illinois | G |
| Indiana | D/G/A |
| Iowa | G |
| Kansas | G |
| Kentucky | G |
| Louisiana | D |
| Maine | A |
| Maryland | G |
| Massachusetts | G |
| Michigan | A |
| Minnesota | G |
| Mississippi | D |
| Missouri | G/A |
| Montana | G/A |
| Nebraska | G |
| Nevada | G/A |
| New Hampshire | G |
| New Jersey | D/G |
| New Mexico | G |
| New York | G |
| North Carolina | D |
| North Dakota | G |
| Ohio | D |
| Oklahoma | G |
| Oregon | G/A |
| Pennsylvania | G/A |
| Rhode Island | G/A |
| South Carolina | G |
| South Dakota | G |
| Tennessee | D |
| Texas | G |
| Utah | G |
| Vermont | G |
| Virginia | ID |
| Washington | G |
| West Virginia | G |
| Wisconsin | G |
| Wyoming | D |
What the pattern looks like, counted from the chart
Counting directly from the 8.24.26 extract: 8 jurisdictions list Direct supervision alone for scaling and root planing — Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wyoming. 27 jurisdictions list General supervision alone, the largest single group. 2 jurisdictions — Arkansas and Virginia — list Indirect supervision alone.
3 jurisdictions — Colorado, Maine, and Michigan — list Direct Access alone, meaning a hygienist there may perform it based on their own assessment without case-by-case authorization.
The remaining 11 jurisdictions list more than one supervision level (separate settings, not a range): Alaska, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
How this compares to the other scope questions on this chart
Scaling and root planing is one function on a 22-function chart, and it isn't the only one that's broadly permitted — oral prophylaxis, the routine preventive cleaning, is another function with no "-" in any of the 51 jurisdictions, though 13 states list a different supervision code for it than for scaling and root planing itself. (X-rays, topical anesthesia, fluoride, and pit/fissure sealants are also "-"-free across all 51 — six functions on the chart share that footprint.) Local anesthesia, which numbs the area before scaling and root planing itself, is listed "-" (not listed as permitted) in only 2 of the 51 jurisdictions on this same chart, a similarly broad footprint. Nitrous oxide is genuinely more restricted, showing "-" in 17 of the 51 jurisdictions. Botox is more restricted still — "-" in 48 of the 51 — and dermal fillers, a separate row on the same chart, is "-" in all 51.
The letters here also aren't the same thing as the ADHA's separate Direct Access chart used in our direct-access overview — that's a different, earlier-dated ADHA source describing which states authorize hygienists to initiate any care without a dentist present.
The Practice Act Overview used on this page is the newer, broader 8.24.26 chart covering supervision per function.
Confirm your state's exact rule
A "-" elsewhere on this chart means a function is not listed as a permitted service in that state's row — it does not mean the state prohibits it outright, only that the chart doesn't list it as authorized.
Scaling and root planing doesn't have that problem: every jurisdiction lists a level.
What you still need to confirm locally is exactly what that level requires in practice, since practice acts and their interpretation change over time.
Start with your state dental board's practice act, and treat this chart and this article as a snapshot dated to 8.24.26 rather than a permanent rule.
For the rest of what a hygienist can and can't do, see our full breakdown of hygienist scope limits.
This article is general information, not legal or clinical advice. Scope-of-practice and supervision rules vary by state and change over time — confirm current requirements with your state dental board.