Legislation designed to help improve access to dental care in Ohio has been unanimously passed by the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives and now awaits the signature of Gov. Ted Strickland, according to a story in the News Herald.
Introduced in May 2009, House Bill 190 would allow dentists to send hygienists into settings outside the dental office to provide cleanings and other hygiene services. Dentists would be required to review the health history of each patient prior to the provision of services to make certain that those services could be provided safely.
Patients seen by a hygienist under public oral health supervision would have a subsequent appointment with a dentist to go over the diagnosis and develop a treatment plan, according to the News Herald.
The bill would increase access especially in nursing homes, facilities for the developmentally disabled, and Veterans Affairs clinics, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Lorraine Fende (D-Willowick), told the News Herald.
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