Law removes registration requirement for Iowa dental assistants

Change aims to give dental offices more flexibility in light of workforce issues

Dental assistants in Iowa will no longer need to register with the state dental board, thanks to a new law that removes the registration requirement for assistants to make it easier for dental offices to hire and train them.

“The IDA is excited about the passage of HF 805,” said Christopher Bogue, D.D.S., immediate past president of the Iowa Dental Association and member of the American Dental Association’s Council on Dental Practice. “We have been dealing with workforce issues in Iowa, and it has been challenging for dental offices to hire dental assistants. HF 805 will provide dental offices in Iowa with greater flexibility to hire, train and retain the dental assistant staff they need.” 

The Iowa Dental Association worked with two dentists in the Iowa Legislature — Rep. Steven Bradley, D.D.S., and Rep. Tom Jeneary, D.D.S. — to develop the bill, which was signed into law May 1. The registration change will take effect once new rules are developed by the Iowa Dental Board.

“All of Iowa’s neighboring states allow for some form of unregistered dental assistants to practice, leaving Iowa in a unique position of requiring additional burdens,” said Josh Carpenter, J.D., government affairs director for the Iowa Dental Association.

The law will allow unregistered dental assistants to work in a dental office with potentially the same scope of practice as registered dental assistants, depending on their training. Unregistered dental assistants may be able to perform expanded functions and participate in radiography, but the state dental board can require additional education and training for them, Mr. Carpenter said.

“Dentists will need to train unregistered dental assistants to ensure competency,” he said.