Dental Specialties Licensure and Scope of Practice Amendment Act of 2023 (B25-0632) 

Updated 7/10/2024

On July 8, Mayor Muriel Bowser withdrew this legislation from consideration. You can read the letter we sent to Mayor Bowser expressing our appreciation.

Thanks go out to all DC dentists who signed our letter of opposition and to those who were ready to testify at a hearing on the legislation scheduled for July 10. You can also read the testimony DCDS submitted for the hearing.

We will monitor activity within the DC Council for any effort to reintroduce this legislation in a different form.

DCDS will continue to advocate for those provisions within the legislation that we support:

  • Clarifying that the ability to place and remove dental implants is within the scope of practice of dentists.
  • Authorizing dentists to administer immunizations and vaccinations.
  • Authorizing dentists to administer FDA approved neurotoxins (e.g., Botox) for both dental and cosmetic purposes as well as dermal fillers.

Background
The Dental Specialties Licensure and Scope of Practice Amendment Act of 2023 (B25-0632) was legislation before the DC Council to update to the scope of practice for dentists. This legislation would have established a new licensing requirement for specialists in DC. 

DCDS has strong objections to the requirement as originally drafted. We requested that the DC Council Committee on Health schedule a hearing on the bill so the concerns of practicing dentists could be heard. That hearing was scheduled for July 10, 2024. 

DCDS prepared a side-by-side comparison of current DC law and the changes that would be made if the legislation were enacted in its current form. Key provisions of the legislation include:

New Licensing Requirement for All Specialist Dentists - if enacted in its current form, the legislation would establish that:

  • A specialist dentist would not be able to practice in DC as a specialist without obtaining a specialist license.
  • Board certification would be required to obtain a specialist license.
  • In order to practice openly as a specialist, all specialists would be required to obtain a specialist license within one year of passage, which is likely to be before their current license expires on December 31, 2025.


The legislation would implement three significant expansions to the scope of practice for dentists:

  • Expanding the definition of the practice of dentistry to include "the placement or removal of dental implants";
  • Authorizing dentists to prescribe and administer "immunizations and vaccinations when certified by the Board of Dentistry to do so";
  • Authorizing dentists to "use of botulinum toxin or another neurotoxin approved by the Food and Drug Administration, to treat a diagnosed dental condition approved by the Mayor through rulemaking, when certified by the Board of Dentistry to do so.”

Note that DCDS is advocating for a broader authorization to administer botulinum toxin or other FDA approved neurotoxins beyond the limited use specified in the legislation as well as the ability to administer dermal fillers.