Legislative Updates

Legislative Update Fall 2009

Western Regional Examination Board (WREB) and
 Dental Hygiene Licensure in California

California will soon be listed as one of the states recognized by the Western Regional Examination, WREB, increasing portability of dental hygiene license across state and regional jurisdictions.

The historic passage of AB403 (Fuller) in 2009, sponsored by the California Dental Hygienists' Association, serves as further recognition of the dental hygiene profession's critical role in self-regulation.  The bill provides that satisfactory performance on either California's dental hygiene clinical examination, or satisfactory completion of the dental hygiene examination administered by WREB, will satisfy the clinical examination requirement for licensure as a dental hygienist in the state of California.  Additionally, there may be other requirements for licensure, such as ethics and state law exams, as dictated by individual state or regional guidelines.  

The successful passage of AB403 legislation marks the beginning of the process that will lead to the portability of dental hygiene licensure across the western states. The next step will be for the Dental Hygiene Committee of California (DHCC) to begin the process of developing regulations for implementing this legislation.  Regulation development may take up to two years. The DHCC will begin the regulatory process with the public hearings to be announced this fall. 

The newly formed Dental Hygiene Committee of California will consist of nine members and will include four dental hygienists, one dentist and four public members.  Members of DHCC have yet to be appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger. CDHA will announce the appointments once the information is released by the governor's office.  

The DHCC has replaced the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries (COMDA) as the agency to contact about dental hygiene licensure, regulations, and other issues related to our profession.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Lori Hubble, DHCC Executive Officer, at:

Dental Hygiene Committee of California
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1050 
Sacramento, CA 95815

Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Email:  Lori_Hubble@dca.ca.gov
Phone: 916-263-1978
Fax: 916-263-2688