Does Arizona’s New Law Put Dental Patients at Risk?
A controversial new Arizona law allows dental assistants to perform prophylaxes, a role traditionally reserved for licensed dental hygienists. While supporters claim it increases patient access to care, critics warn it could compromise patient safety and lower the standard of dental care.
A new Arizona law, signed by Governor Katie Hobbs, is raising concerns among dental professionals and patients alike. The legislation permits dental assistants, now designated as oral preventive assistants (OPAs), to perform prophylaxes—tasks traditionally handled by licensed dental hygienists. Proponents argue this change will improve access to care, particularly in underserved areas, but opponents, including the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), caution that it could jeopardize patient safety.
According to the ADHA, “Dental hygienists undergo rigorous education and clinical training to provide safe and effective preventive care.” Under the new law, OPAs will need 120 hours of clinical instruction before working on patients. Critics worry this limited training is inadequate, especially since dentists can supervise up to three OPAs at once, potentially reducing oversight. Dental hygienists can supervise up to one OPA.
The law stipulates that OPAs can only treat healthy patients and may only perform supragingival scaling and polishing. However, with reduced supervision, the risks of misdiagnoses and substandard care are real. Additionally, some fear the law incentivizes cost-cutting, as dental assistants earn significantly less than dental hygienists. Click here to read more.
We knew that a state (states) would eventually “band aid” legislation in an attempt to alleviate the RDH shortage. There is no such technique to remove supragingival calculus without “touching ” subgingival debris. And what entity will select guidelines for this OPA to only manage “healthy patients”. There are solutions to the current workforce issue, but let’s not undermine quality of patient care by “shooting from the hip”