Board of Dental Examiners backs bill to expand dental workforce roles and volunteer licenses

Senate Bill 2217 drew largely supportive testimony as the North Dakota State Board of Dental Examiners described statutory changes intended to address workforce shortages, clarify board processes and create new registration and licensure pathways for dental assistants and hygienists.

Senator Sean Cleary, sponsor of SB 2217, told the Senate Workforce Committee the bill’s aims include workforce development, expanded scopes for dental assistants and hygienists, new licensure pathways, streamlined licensing processes and broader volunteer opportunities.

David Shibley, executive director of the State Board of Dental Examiners, told the committee the board spent roughly two years reviewing statutes and rules with national and local partners, licensees and educators, and then changed rules effective Oct. 1 to ease workforce constraints. The bill would codify and supplement many of those changes. Key workforce elements Shibley emphasized include allowing dentists to participate in the state professional health program for confidential treatment of impairment, formalizing a volunteer license pathway for short charitable events, creating a new “qualified dental assistant/limited radiology registrant” to recognize lower‑barrier assistant roles, and removing a statutory prohibition that prevents hygienists from injecting local anesthetic into patients under 18 when a dentist approves it.

Shibley said the board’s review also identified operational issues with board appointment timing and quorum rules that could cause a loss of institutional knowledge if multiple terms expire simultaneously; the bill adjusts appointment language to stagger terms and align quorum rules with open meetings law. He explained the board had implemented many workforce changes through rulemaking but sought statutory clarification for long‑term stability and to obtain fee authority for a new registrant class (the board lacks explicit statutory authority to assess a fee for that registration under current law).

The North Dakota Dental Association’s William Sherwin testified in support and described the board’s outreach and the bill’s practical benefits for practices and charitable dental events such as Mission of Mercy. Maggie Stevens, representing the professional health program (PHP), pledged the program’s willingness to partner with dentists.

Stakeholders described the volunteer license pathway as important for large short‑term charity clinics where out‑of‑state providers help treat many patients under structured supervision; the bill would streamline that process and extend similar registration to hygienists. On scope, the proposed change allowing hygienists to administer local anesthetic to minors when the dentist deems it safe was framed as a time‑saving measure that could increase clinic throughput and improve access.

No organized opposition spoke at the hearing. Committee members asked detailed questions about implementation, continuing education, supervision levels and fiscal impacts; Shibley said many changes had been tested through rule revisions and that the board had coordinated with stakeholders, educational institutions and the governor’s office.

Why it matters: The bill codifies a two‑year board effort to reduce regulatory friction in dental practices, broaden volunteer and assistant roles, and create administrative fixes to protect continuity of board governance. Proponents said the measures help address access and provider shortages while preserving patient protections.