Dental care to become more accessible

The Salinas Californian

Jun 26, 2006

SACRAMENTO — Legislation to increase dental care for Californians who are impoverished or living in rural areas passed its first Senate test Monday.

Assembly Bill 1334, authored by Assemblyman Simón Salinas, D-Salinas, would allow a special group of dental hygienists to provide preventive dental care to isolated and low-income individuals without a prescription from a dentist or doctor.

The bill would drop the current requirement for a prescription, but direct the hygienists to enter a contract with a dentist for referrals and emergency care.

“One of the reasons I carried this bill is I have a lot of farmworker labor camps out there,” Salinas said. “When we require a prescription … (from) farm workers, elderly, people who don’t have a dentist, don’t have a doctor, then in a sense you have cut off access to this individual.”

The bill was opposed by Cathy Mudge of the California Dental Association, which represents dentists. Mudge said dentists can work with hygienists and there’s no evidence of need for the bill.

“We do believe this is premature and are not aware of any study that has been done to show there is really a problem,” Mudge said.

AB 1334, which has already passed the Assembly, passed the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee on Monday. It next goes to the full Senate.