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Bipartisan agreement produces bill to expand school-based preventive dental care
Summary
House Bill 321 would allow limited-access-permit (LAP) dental hygienists to provide preventive services in school-based oral health programs; stakeholders including the Department of Labor, Montana Dental Association, and Montana Dental Hygienists Association reached a collaborative compromise and urged passage.
House Bill 321, presented in the Senate Business and Labor Committee by Representative Nellie Nicoll, would explicitly allow Dental Hygienists who hold a Limited Access Permit (LAP) to deliver limited preventive dental services in school-based oral health programs to eligible students.
Rep. Nicoll and the Department of Labor and Industry described the bill as the product of long-running stakeholder negotiations between the Montana Dental Association and the Montana Dental Hygienists Association to settle a prior rule dispute. Commissioner Sarah Swanson told the committee the bill "sets very clear guidelines on when [LAP] can be used" and preserves parental choice and board oversight.
Proponents emphasized the bill does not change a hygienist’s scope of practice, does not mandate school participation, and preserves the board of dentistry’s authority to approve qualifying programs. Hygienists described experience requirements, malpractice coverage and close dentist collaboration for LAP services; dental and public-health groups argued the bill improves access for students in rural, tribal, and low-income communities.
No opponents testified in committee. The sponsor asked for a do pass recommendation to the floor.
Next steps: The bill will be carried to the Senate floor by a senator and proceed through the legislative calendar.
