In most states, no — treatment planning stays with the dentist.
The ADHA's Practice Act Overview (8.24.26 update) lists treatment planning as permitted hygienist scope in just 12 of the 51 jurisdictions it tracks: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Oregon, and South Dakota.
The required supervision level ranges widely across those 12 — five different codes appear, from a dentist needing to be present to a hygienist's own collaborative-practice agreement.
The short answer
Treatment planning is one of the more restricted rows on the ADHA's entire chart.
The Practice Act Overview (8.24.26 update) lists it as permitted hygienist scope in only 12 of the 51 jurisdictions it tracks: Alaska (Direct), Arizona (General), California (General), Colorado (Direct Access), Connecticut (General), Delaware (General), DC (General), Indiana (Direct and Direct Access, as two separate settings), Iowa (Collaborative Practice), Maine (Direct Access), Oregon (Collaborative Practice), and South Dakota (Personal Supervision).
The other 39 jurisdictions show no listed supervision level for this specific function.
That 12-state footprint sits well below near-universal chart rows like oral prophylaxis or x-rays, but above the tightest rows on the same chart, like Botox (3 of 51) or suture placement (4 of 51).
Treatment planning is a real, separately tracked scope question — not a synonym for the exam or the cleaning that precedes it.
Informational only — confirm with your state board
What "treatment planning" means on this chart — and what it isn't
On the ADHA chart, Treatment Planning is its own row, separate from two chart neighbors it's easy to confuse it with: Dental Hygiene Assessment (gathering clinical findings) and Dental Hygiene Diagnosis (identifying a disease or condition from those findings).
Treatment planning is the step after both — proposing a sequence of care based on what the assessment and diagnosis found.
The chart tracks all three as distinct functions with their own supervision levels, so permission on one doesn't carry over to another.
This is also a different question from the general "can hygienists diagnose" scope limit covered in what a dental hygienist can't do — that article covers diagnosis broadly; this one covers only the Treatment Planning row specifically, in the states where the chart lists it.
Reading the supervision levels
Five different codes appear across this row's 12 listed jurisdictions.
Each comes from the chart's own legend:
- D — Direct Supervision: the dentist needs to be present.
- G — General Supervision: the dentist authorizes the service beforehand but need not be present.
- A — Direct Access: the hygienist can provide the service based on their own determination, without specific authorization.
- CP — Collaborative Practice: the hygienist may practice without supervision, under a collaborative agreement with a licensed dentist.
- P — Personal Supervision: the dentist must authorize, be present, and check the patient before dismissal — the most involved level on the chart.
- "-" — not listed as a permitted function in the chart. That isn't the same as prohibited — it means the chart records no permitted supervision level for that state, so confirm directly with the board.
Indiana's cell reads D/A — that's two separate listed settings (the chart distinguishes private and public practice), never a range and never blended into one answer.
Quote the cell exactly as the chart lists it.
Where hygienists have a listed role in treatment planning, by state
Quoting the chart as written, here is the supervision level listed for every jurisdiction.
Twelve list a level at all; the remaining 39 show no listed supervision level for this specific function.
| State | Treatment Planning supervision level (ADHA chart) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | - |
| Alaska | D |
| Arizona | G |
| Arkansas | - |
| California | G |
| Colorado | A |
| Connecticut | G |
| Delaware | G |
| District of Columbia | G |
| Florida | - |
| Georgia | - |
| Hawaii | - |
| Idaho | - |
| Illinois | - |
| Indiana | D/A |
| Iowa | CP |
| Kansas | - |
| Kentucky | - |
| Louisiana | - |
| Maine | A |
| Maryland | - |
| Massachusetts | - |
| Michigan | - |
| Minnesota | - |
| Mississippi | - |
| Missouri | - |
| Montana | - |
| Nebraska | - |
| Nevada | - |
| New Hampshire | - |
| New Jersey | - |
| New Mexico | - |
| New York | - |
| North Carolina | - |
| North Dakota | - |
| Ohio | - |
| Oklahoma | - |
| Oregon | CP |
| Pennsylvania | - |
| Rhode Island | - |
| South Carolina | - |
| South Dakota | P |
| Tennessee | - |
| Texas | - |
| Utah | - |
| Vermont | - |
| Virginia | - |
| Washington | - |
| West Virginia | - |
| Wisconsin | - |
| Wyoming | - |
Source: ADHA Dental Hygiene Practice Act Overview, 8.24.26 update.
A "-" means the function isn't listed as permitted in that state's row — not that it's necessarily prohibited.
How this compares to other functions on this chart
Treatment planning's 12-of-51 footprint sits between the chart's tightest rows and its broadest ones.
It's listed in more jurisdictions than Botox (3 of 51) and placing sutures (4 of 51), but far fewer than administering nitrous oxide (34 of 51) or local anesthesia, which the ADHA lists as permitted in the large majority of states.
Don't assume permission for one function on this chart implies permission for another — the ADHA lists each one separately, and this article covers only the Treatment Planning row.
Confirm your state's exact rule
A "-" on this chart means the function isn't listed as permitted in that state's row — it does not mean the state prohibits it outright, only that the chart doesn't record an authorized supervision level there.
Even where a level is listed, confirm exactly what it 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.