Kansas Board of Regents chair Tim Emert (left) and Andy Tompkins, Regents chief executive. by KHI News Service

Members of the governance committee for the Kansas Board of Regents have agreed that the full board should hear the pros and cons of a proposal to train mid-level dental practitioners.

Regents' officials said this week that discussion among board members likely would happen before the Legislature convenes in January, perhaps when the board that oversees state universities, junior colleges and technical schools next meets in November.

Bills authorizing the licensing of "registered dental practitioners" as a way of improving access to dental care for Kansans in rural and other underserved areas were considered by lawmakers in each of the past two sessions of the Legislature but were not advanced because of stiff opposition from the Kansas Dental Association, which represents about 75 percent of the state's dentists, of which there are fewer than 1,500.

Had the proposals become law, the mid-level practitioners would have been allowed to perform about 30 routine services and procedures — such as extracting loose baby teeth, taking X-rays and administering local anesthetic — that currently are limited to dentists. The practitioners, similar to a nurse practitioner, would be required to work under a dentist's "general" supervision, though the dentist would not be required at the technician's side.

Spokespersons for the dental association have argued that routine procedures quickly can turn dangerous and that allowing lesser-trained practitioners to do what dentists now do could put patients at risk.

But supporters of the measure, including a coalition that includes the state's safety-net clinics, argue that some people in Kansas, including children, have died due to lack of dental care and that putting more oral health workers into the field is essential for meeting the state's needs. They also cite studies from countries and states where the practitioners are licensed showing they provide good quality, cost-effective care.

Not enough dentists

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment the state's dental workforce is below the national average and shrinking. More than a dozen of the state's 105 counties have no dentist and many more than that have too few.

A proposal to create the new class of dental technician is expected to be before the Legislature again in the 2013 session, which begins in January.

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