The Oregon Dental Association, Oregon Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and Oregon Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons are opposing a proposal that would license dental therapists statewide, and are instead offering amendments to the bill, according to The Lund Report.
House Bill 2528 would allow dental therapists to provide some routine dental care services under the "general supervision" of a dentist in Oregon whom they could contact. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-North Portland.
In a letter to lawmakers, the Oregon Dental Association, Oregon Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and Oregon Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons wrote: "Our organizations are not opposed to the concept of dental therapy, but without adding sideboards around scope, training and supervision, the bill, as drafted, poses a danger to Oregon's most vulnerable populations. We urge the committee to oppose the bill as introduced, and ensure the work on this bill moving forward is inclusive of the broader dental community."
Rep. Cedric Hayden, DDS, R-Roseburg, introduced an amendment that limits the number of procedures dental therapists could perform independently. The amendment would require dental therapists to purchase their own liability insurance coverage and mandate more than half of a dental therapist's practice be devoted to underserved populations.
Amy Coplen, a registered dental hygienist and program director at Forest Grove, Ore.-based Pacific University's School of Dental Hygiene Studies, urged lawmakers not to implement further restrictions.
"Dental therapists are not independent practitioners," Ms. Coplen said. "We need to trust the competent and highly educated dentists of Oregon to delegate safely and to oversee the dental therapists' work."