As used in this chapter, the term:

(1) "Accredited dental college" and "accredited dental school" or "accredited school of dentistry" mean a dental school, college, or university accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency.

(2) "Accredited dental hygiene school" means a dental hygiene school or college accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency.

(3) "Board" means the Georgia Board of Dentistry.

(4) "Conscious sedation" means a depressed level of consciousness, produced by a pharmacologic agent, which retains the patient's ability to maintain independently and continuously an airway and appropriately respond to physical stimulation and verbal command. The use of nitrous oxide as the only systemic sedative is not considered conscious sedation for purposes of this chapter.

(5) "Dentistry" means the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment, or any combination thereof, whether using surgical or nonsurgical procedures, of diseases, disorders, or conditions, or any combination thereof, of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area, or the adjacent and associated structures, or any combination thereof, and their impact on the human body provided by a dentist, within the scope of his or her education, training, and experience, in accordance with the ethics of the profession and applicable law, including, but not limited to, the acts specified in Code Section 43-11-17.

(6) "General anesthesia" means a controlled state of depressed consciousness, produced by a pharmacologic agent, which is accompanied by partial or complete loss of protective reflexes, including the inability to maintain independently an airway or respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal command. For purposes of this chapter, "general anesthesia" includes deep sedation.

(7) "Instructor" means either a dentist holding a dental license from another state or a dental hygienist holding a dental hygienist license from another state who has graduated from a school or college accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency and whom the state board has granted instructor status for the sole purpose of teaching or instructing in a training clinic or an accredited dental college or accredited dental hygiene school in this state those procedures and services recognized in this state to be within the scope of practice of such person's license.

(8) "Licensed dental hygienist" means a dental hygienist licensed and in good standing in this state pursuant to this chapter.

(9) "Licensed dentist" means a dentist licensed and in good standing in this state pursuant to this chapter. (10) "Training clinic" means a clinic operated as a nonprofit facility by an accredited dental college or accredited dental hygiene school primarily to train students of such college or school.