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Major Legislative Updates for 2022
As of May 27, 2022, Gov. Pritzker signed HB4501. Unfortunately, this expands the functions of dental assistants to scale supragingivally on patients 17 and younger (changed from 12 years of age) and who qualify for one of the following provisions: on Medicaid, uninsured, or whole family household income is not higher than 300% of the federal poverty level (changed from 200%). The legislation also increased the training hours, from 16 hours to 32 hours needed for dental assistants.
On a brighter note, this bill will allow PHDHs to work in nursing homes. A dental hygienist can provide certain dental care to a nursing home resident under a collaborative agreement with a dentist. The bill will take effect January 1, 2023.
We want to thank everyone who took the time to complete witness slips, contact legislators, and share information on social media. Going forward, our goal is to educate the public on the importance of looking for the dental hygienist's license and ask who is performing their oral care.
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