House committee advances bill creating oral preventive assistant role in dental practices

House Committee on Health and Human Services members voted to give Senate Bill 11-24 a due-pass recommendation after hearing testimony for and against creating a new oral preventive assistant role in dental practices.

The bill requires a dental assistant who seeks to practice as an oral preventive assistant to complete a dental board–approved training course of 120 hours of didactic and clinical instruction with patients, meet other prescribed criteria, practice only under the direct supervision of a dentist or dental hygienist, and directs the Dental Board to coordinate with the statewide association representing dentists in Arizona to collect data and report to the governor and legislature by Jan. 1, 2029.

Supporters told the committee the change aims to ease workforce shortages that have reduced access to routine dental care in some areas. Regina Cobb, executive director of the Arizona Dental Association, said the shortage of dental hygienists has grown since 2020 and that the supplemental role would allow trained assistants to perform cleanings above the gum line under supervision. "We have more than 7,000 hygienist shortage across The United States right now, which is a pretty significant number," Cobb said. She described the 120-hour requirement as the product of consensus with hygiene and educational stakeholders.

Opponents said the change risks diminishing the value of dental hygiene education and could reduce quality of care. Dan Brown, who identified himself as a dental hygienist from Navajo County, said lowering training requirements could undercut the profession and produce rushed or lower-quality care. "What will be the purpose of going to dental hygiene school? And spending all this money on further programs to get this education," Brown asked, saying some hygienists view the change as "more of just a cost reduction in the labor force."

Committee members asked staff about whether other states have similar roles and were told Missouri is adopting rules and that Alabama and Kansas have preventive assistant programs by other names but limited outcome data is available.

The committee approved a motion to return the bill with a due-pass recommendation. The roll call produced a tally of 8 ayes and 2 nays; the committee record shows two members absent. The bill language also requires the dental board and the statewide dentists’ association to collect and report data on the new classification by Jan. 1, 2029.

Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 11-24 — motion: "SB 11-24 be returned with a due pass recommendation." Outcome: returned with due pass; tally reported by the committee: 8 ayes, 2 nays, 0 abstentions, 2 absent.