Davis Legislation Aims to Expand Dental Care Access at Community Health Centers

CHICAGO – Historically under-resourced communities will have better access to comprehensive dental care under a new measure introduced by state Rep. Lisa Davis, D-Chicago, allowing community health centers to provide additional forms of care.

“We want community health centers to have the resources they need to ensure patients receive the care they need, while keeping everyone safe,” Davis said. “This measure gives us a head start by allowing trained dental hygienists to do what they are trained to do, so families who rely on these clinics get the best possible care.”

Many modest-income families and people in communities with limited access to medical treatment depend on community health centers and outpatient Federally Qualified Health Centers for a range of medical tests and procedures. But current law limits the score of dental care available at these centers by preventing hygienists from providing local anesthesia—which is necessary to prevent pain during basic procedures such as filling a cavity. Dental hygienists working in private practices are allowed to deliver local anesthesia.    

Davis is working to expand access to quality dental care by introducing House Bill 4913, which allows trained dental hygienists in these clinics to give local anesthesia as long as a physician is on site, helping clinics care for patients more efficiently. Hygienists would go through the same training and be under the same supervision as their counterparts at private clinics. 

“We want our underserved communities to have the same access to care as everyone else, and that includes dental care,” Davis said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation.”