Dental Assisting Bills S3304 and A7369 Are Now New York State Law
Ann Breeswine, RDHVice President, Governmental Affairs
Dental Hygienists’ Association of the State of New York
The journey of senate and assembly bills affecting the profession of dental assisting has come to an end with the 2006 legislative session. The passage of bills S3304 and A7369 in their final format is a huge step forward for the profession of both dental assisting and dental hygiene in New York. Not only were more stringent regulations put into place for licensed dental assistants, the original goal of the bills to place the regulation of licensed dental assistants into the hands of dentists was removed. The Dental Hygienists’ Association of the State of New York (DHASNY) and the New York Dental Assisting Association (NYDAA) worked together to inform legislators about the dangers of moving the profession of dental assisting out of state regulations by emphasizing the safety of the public as patient-clients in any dental office setting.
As you may recall, the bills were first introduced to New York legislators in 2005 with the intention of removing the education commissioner’s regulation over the practice of licensed dental assisting and placing the profession under the authority of dentist-employers. At the end of 2005, the S3304 had passed in the senate but A7369 failed to reach the assembly floor. They reappeared this January when they were re-introduced to the New York State legislature. Following tireless efforts of DHASNY’s and NYDAA’s lobbyists as well as a letter writing blitz by grass roots members of both associations in May, it looked like the bills would fail to reach either the senate or the assembly floor and we all breathed a tentative sigh of relief. Of course, politics is rarely straight-forward and after a short time, the bills came up again due to pressure on the legislators from the New York State Dental Association (NYSDA). However, the final version of the bills return the regulation of licensed dental assisting to the commissioner of education and further define the procedures that a certified dental assistant may perform “shall not include diagnosing and/or performing surgical procedures, irreversible procedures or procedures that would alter the hard or soft tissue of the oral and maxillofacial area or any other procedures determined by the department.” It also further limits the educational settings for licensed dental assistants to non-degree granting institutions “which shall not be a professional association or professional organization…or which shall be provided by a degree-granting institution or a board of cooperative educational services program.”
A new day has arrived for the professions of dental hygiene and dental assisting! Together we have made an impact in Albany; legislators know who we are and that we stand for patient safety and access to dental care for all New Yorkers. The new law is slated to take effect in January 2007; in the meantime, rules will be determined by the commissioner of education to further outline procedures which can and cannot be performed by licensed dental assistants. DHASNY continues to monitor the progress of the rules committee and will not hesitate to provide input when necessary to protect the professions of dental hygiene and dental assisting and most importantly, the safety of the patients under our care.
For more information on the workings of the New York State Legislature and to find out who your legislators are, check out the New York State Senate website at http://www.senate.state.ny.us/senatehomepage.nsf/home?openform and the New York State Assembly website at http://assembly.state.ny.us .