HB2676 Summary

• Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act to establish training requirements for public health dental hygienists, including 29 hours of didactic study covering emergency procedures, pharmacology, medical recordkeeping, geriatric dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and pathology.

• Requires public health dental hygienists to complete 5 additional hours of coursework in special needs dentistry, teledentistry, nutritional needs, communication techniques, cultural competency, and professional ethics.

• Mandates 8 hours of in-person classroom instruction with a comprehension exam and requires certificates of completion to be maintained by both the supervising dentist and the dental hygienist.

• Allows public health dental hygienists to treat eligible patients (Medicaid-insured or uninsured with household income up to 200% of federal poverty level) in public health settings without a dentist first examining the patient or being present during treatment.

• Permits approved training providers to include accredited dental schools, dental hygiene programs, or state dental associations previously approved to provide continuing education.