REFERENCE TITLE: dental board; oral preventive assistants

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

First Regular Session

2025

SB 1124

Introduced by

Senator Shope

AN ACT

Amending title 32, chapter 11, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 32-1291.02; relating to the state board of dental examiners.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 32, chapter 11, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 32-1291.02, to read:

START_STATUTE32-1291.02. Oral preventive assistants; qualifications; scope of practice

A. In order to practice as an oral preventive assistant, a dental assistant shall complete a board-approved oral preventive assistant expanded functions training course.  Before taking an oral preventive assistant expanded functions training course, a dental assistant shall successfully complete a board-approved course containing the appropriate level of didactic and hand skills assessment and hold a current certification as a certified dental assistant from a board-approved certification program.

B. During an oral preventive assistant's initial five years of practice in this state, the oral preventive assistant may practice only in a federally designated health provider shortage area or in a county with a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand persons.  The scope of practice for an oral preventive assistant is limited to taking and recording periodontal probe readings, documenting areas of periodontal concern and performing supragingival scaling and polishing. An Oral preventive assistant may practice only on periodontally healthy patients or patients with reversible gingivitis. END_STATUTE