SB3168 Summary

• Establishes that using teledentistry constitutes practicing dentistry under Illinois law, with dentists able to delegate services to dental hygienists and dental assistants using telehealth under the same supervision requirements as in-person care.

• Expands "public health setting" definition to include prisons, allowing public health dental hygienists to practice in additional facilities.

• Permits dental assistants with at least 2,000 hours of direct clinical patient care experience and completion of approved training to perform coronal scaling (on patients 19 years or younger without periodontal disease) and intracoronal temporization of teeth.

• Changes "teledentistry" definition to specify "limited patient diagnosis and treatment planning" rather than "patient care" using synchronous and asynchronous communications under an Illinois-licensed dentist's authority.

• Adds dental anesthesiology as a recognized specialty branch of dentistry.