The Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association and a licensed dental hygienist have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a proposed Missouri Dental Board rule that would allow expanded-function dental assistants to perform supragingival scaling and comprehensive periodontal charting.
The petition, filed Sept. 29 in Cole County Circuit Court, asks the court to declare the proposed rule unlawful and enjoin the board from implementing it before or after final promulgation.
The proposed rule, published in the Missouri Register Sept. 15, would add a new “periodontal” category of expanded functions for dental assistants holding a periodontal permit. Public comments are due Oct. 15, with the rule potentially taking effect as early as January 2027, according to court documents.
MDHA makes several arguments against the proposal, including that the rule directly conflicts with several state statutes that limit supragingival scaling and comprehensive periodontal charting to licensed dentists and hygienists, and prohibit dentists from delegating dental hygiene functions to dental assistants. The lawsuit also contends that the board lacks statutory authority to implement the rule because a previous pilot project that temporarily authorized dental assistants to perform those tasks expired Aug. 28, and was not renewed by the General Assembly.
The petition further alleges that the board’s pilot project report acknowledged that the program failed to meet its objectives of improving clinical outcomes or expanding clinic capacity.
A spokesperson told Becker’s the Missouri Dental Board cannot comment on active or pending litigation.
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