oral preventive assistants; qualifications

HB2326 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
oral preventive assistants; qualifications

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2326

Introduced by

Representative
Hendrix: Senator Petersen

AN
ACT

Amending section 32-1291.02,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the state board of dental examiners.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 32-1291.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
32-1291.02.

Oral preventive assistants; qualifications; scope of practice;
supervision; definition

A. In order to practice as an oral preventive
assistant, a dental assistant shall complete a
board-approved
state board of dental examiners-approved
oral preventive
assistant training course that includes at least
one hundred
twenty
thirty
hours of
didactic and

clinical instruction with patients and
ninety hours of didactic
instruction
that is provided by a qualifying institution.� Before taking
an oral preventive assistant training course, a dental assistant must meet all
of the following:

1. Hold a current certification in cardiopulmonary
resuscitation.

2. Hold a
board-approved

state board of dental examiners-approved
certification
for both coronal polishing and radiography.

3.
Either
any of
the following
:

(a) Hold a current national board certification in
dental assisting.

(b) Have successfully completed a dental assisting
educational program accredited by a state or national organization that
accredits dental programs.

(
c
) Have
successfully completed a dental assisting educational program offered by a
licensed private postsecondary educational institute in this state.

B. The scope of practice for an oral preventive
assistant is limited to removing plaque, calculus and stains, with scalers or
sonic or ultrasonic scaling devices, on patients who have first received a
periodontal evaluation by a dentist or dental hygienist. An oral
preventive assistant may practice only on periodontally healthy patients or
patients with localized mild gingivitis. An oral preventive
assistant may not use any air polishing technology or device or practice on
patients who have been treated for periodontal disease, have generalized
recession, are medically compromised or are under sedation.

C. An oral preventive assistant who provides coronal
calculus removal services pursuant to this section shall both:

1. Inform each patient and document in the patient's
clinical record that the patient's care was not provided by a licensed dental
provider.

2. Prominently post the oral preventive assistant's
certificate of completion of an approved course of instruction at the location
where the coronal calculus removal services are performed.

D. An oral preventive assistant may practice in this
state only under the direct supervision of a dentist or dental hygienist.� A
dentist may supervise not more than three oral preventive assistants at the
same time.� A dental hygienist may supervise not more than one oral preventive
assistant at any time.� A dentist or dental hygienist who allows an oral
preventive assistant to perform coronal calculus removal services in violation
of this section commits an act of unprofessional conduct.

E. For the purposes of this section,
"qualifying institution" means
either of the
following:

1.
An institution of higher
education, including a community college, that provides a dental or dental
hygiene program that is accredited by the commission on dental accreditation,
or its successor.

2. An institution that is licensed by
the state board of postsecondary education, that has been in operation for at
least five years and that offers a dental assisting program that includes live
patient clinical training under the supervision of a licensed dentist.

END_STATUTE