HB2676eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2676 Engrossed LRB101 07105 JRG 52142 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Dental Practice Act is amended by changing Section 4 and by adding Sections 13.5 and 13.10 as follows:

(225 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 2304)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)

Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Address of record" means the designated address recorded by the Department in the applicant's or licensee's application file or license file as maintained by the Department's licensure maintenance unit. It is the duty of the applicant or licensee to inform the Department of any change of address and those changes must be made either through the Department's website or by contacting the Department.

"Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

"Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation.

"Board" means the Board of Dentistry.

"Dentist" means a person who has received a general license pursuant to paragraph (a) of Section 11 of this Act and who may perform any intraoral and extraoral procedure required in the practice of dentistry and to whom is reserved the responsibilities specified in Section 17.

"Dental hygienist" means a person who holds a license under this Act to perform dental services as authorized by Section 18.

"Dental assistant" means an appropriately trained person who, under the supervision of a dentist, provides dental services as authorized by Section 17.

"Expanded function dental assistant" means a dental assistant who has completed the training required by Section 17.1 of this Act.

"Dental laboratory" means a person, firm or corporation which:

(i) engages in making, providing, repairing or altering dental prosthetic appliances and other artificial materials and devices which are returned to a dentist for insertion into the human oral cavity or which come in contact with its adjacent structures and tissues; and

(ii) utilizes or employs a dental technician to provide such services; and

(iii) performs such functions only for a dentist or dentists.

"Supervision" means supervision of a dental hygienist or a dental assistant requiring that a dentist authorize the procedure, remain in the dental facility while the procedure is performed, and approve the work performed by the dental hygienist or dental assistant before dismissal of the patient, but does not mean that the dentist must be present at all times in the treatment room.

"General supervision" means supervision of a dental hygienist requiring that the patient be a patient of record, that the dentist examine the patient in accordance with Section 18 prior to treatment by the dental hygienist, and that the dentist authorize the procedures which are being carried out by a notation in the patient's record, but not requiring that a dentist be present when the authorized procedures are being performed. The issuance of a prescription to a dental laboratory by a dentist does not constitute general supervision.

"Public member" means a person who is not a health professional. For purposes of board membership, any person with a significant financial interest in a health service or profession is not a public member.

"Dentistry" means the healing art which is concerned with the examination, diagnosis, treatment planning and care of conditions within the human oral cavity and its adjacent tissues and structures, as further specified in Section 17.

"Branches of dentistry" means the various specialties of dentistry which, for purposes of this Act, shall be limited to the following: endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, and oral and maxillofacial radiology.

"Specialist" means a dentist who has received a specialty license pursuant to Section 11(b).

"Dental technician" means a person who owns, operates or is employed by a dental laboratory and engages in making, providing, repairing or altering dental prosthetic appliances and other artificial materials and devices which are returned to a dentist for insertion into the human oral cavity or which come in contact with its adjacent structures and tissues.

"Impaired dentist" or "impaired dental hygienist" means a dentist or dental hygienist who is unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety because of a physical or mental disability as evidenced by a written determination or written consent based on clinical evidence, including deterioration through the aging process, loss of motor skills, abuse of drugs or alcohol, or a psychiatric disorder, of sufficient degree to diminish the person's ability to deliver competent patient care.

"Nurse" means a registered professional nurse, a certified registered nurse anesthetist licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse, or a licensed practical nurse licensed under the Nurse Practice Act.

"Patient of record" means a patient for whom the patient's most recent dentist has obtained a relevant medical and dental history and on whom the dentist has performed an examination and evaluated the condition to be treated.

"Dental responder" means a dentist or dental hygienist who is appropriately certified in disaster preparedness, immunizations, and dental humanitarian medical response consistent with the Society of Disaster Medicine and Public Health and training certified by the National Incident Management System or the National Disaster Life Support Foundation.

"Mobile dental van or portable dental unit" means any self-contained or portable dental unit in which dentistry is practiced that can be moved, towed, or transported from one location to another in order to establish a location where dental services can be provided.

"Public health dental hygienist" means a hygienist who holds a valid license to practice in the State, has 2 years of full-time clinical experience or an equivalent of 4,000 hours of clinical experience and has completed at least 42 clock hours of additional structured courses in dental education approved by rule by the Department in advanced areas specific to public health dentistry, including, but not limited to, emergency procedures for medically compromised patients, pharmacology, medical recordkeeping procedures, geriatric dentistry, pediatric dentistry, pathology, and other areas of study as determined by the Department, and works in a public health setting pursuant to a written public health supervision agreement as defined by rule by the Department with a dentist working in or contracted with a local or State government agency or institution or who is providing services as part of a certified school-based program or school-based oral health program.

"Public health setting" means a federally qualified health center; a federal, State, or local public health facility; Head Start; a special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) facility; or a certified school-based health center or school-based oral health program.

"Public health supervision" means the supervision of a public health dental hygienist by a licensed dentist who has a written public health supervision agreement with that public health dental hygienist while working in an approved facility or program that allows the public health dental hygienist to treat patients, without a dentist first examining the patient and being present in the facility during treatment, (1) who are eligible for Medicaid or (2) who are uninsured and whose household income is not greater than 200% of the federal poverty level.

(Source: P.A. 99-25, eff. 1-1-16; 99-492, eff. 12-31-15; 99-680, eff. 1-1-17; 100-215, eff. 1-1-18; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)

(225 ILCS 25/13.5 new)

Sec. 13.5. Training programs for public health dental hygienists.

(a) With respect to the requirement that a public health dental hygienist have additional structured courses in dental education in advanced areas specific to public health dentistry, education in advanced areas specific to public health dentistry must include emergency procedures for medically compromised patients (5 hours), pharmacology (5 hours), medical recordkeeping procedures (4 hours), geriatric dentistry (5 hours), pediatric dentistry (5 hours), and pathology (5 hours) provided by:

(1) an educational institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, such as a dental school or dental hygiene program; or

(2) a statewide dental association or dental hygiene association, approved by the Department to provide continuing education, that has developed and conducted training programs for expanded functions for dental assistants and hygienists.

(b) Training programs for a public health dental hygienist must:

(1) include a minimum 29 hours of didactic study as described in subsection (a), which may be taken in an online structured format and in compliance with the continued learning education requirements of 68 Illinois Administrative Code 1220.440;

(2) require completion of 5 hours of didactic courses in the following topic areas: special needs dentistry, teledentistry, nutritional needs of geriatric and low income patients, communication techniques with non-English speaking patients, cultural competency, and professional ethics;

(3) require completion of an 8 hour in-person classroom review that includes a comprehension exam on the subjects required in subsection (a) and submit certification of successful completion to the supervising dentist; and

(4) issue a certificate of completion of the training program requirement, which must be kept on file at the supervising dentist's office and with the public health dental hygienist which will be made available to the Department upon request.

(225 ILCS 25/13.10 new)

Sec. 13.10. Public health dental hygienist supervision agreement. After completion of the requirements of Section 13.5, a public health dental hygienist may operate in a public health setting that meets the requirements of Section 18.1 with a dentist who is working in or has contracted with a local or State government agency or institution or who is providing services as part of a certified school-based program or school-based oral health program.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.