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S2862ALicensing & Accreditation

Businesses and Professions - Dentists and Dental Hygienists

This bill allows foreign-trained dentists and dental hygienists to receive limited licenses to practice under supervision in Rhode Island.

Introduced37 Yea1 Nay0 Not voting
Population
Affected
25
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This bill allows foreign-trained dentists and dental hygienists to receive limited licenses to practice in Rhode Island. To qualify, they must have graduated from a reputable dental or dental hygiene college, pass a state-approved examination, and work under the supervision of a licensed dentist. Foreign-trained dentists are required to work under direct supervision for their first six months and are not allowed to work in private practices, meaning they will likely work in hospitals or community clinics. The state dental board must create the specific rules for this process by December 1, 2027.

For younger readers

Sometimes, people who learned to be dentists or teeth cleaners in other countries want to work in Rhode Island. This bill makes a new rule that lets them get a special permission slip to work here. To get it, they must pass a test and prove they went to a good dental school. When they start working, a boss dentist has to watch them closely to make sure they are doing a good job. They also aren't allowed to own their own private dentist office, but they can work in places like hospitals or community health centers.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Foreign-trained dentistsForeign-trained dental hygienistsHospitals and clinicsDental patientsLicensed supervising dentists
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. The state has the constitutional authority to regulate medical and dental licensing, including setting educational, examination, and supervisory requirements for foreign-trained practitioners to ensure public health and safety.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases healthcare access for disadvantaged communities because foreign-trained dentists are excluded from private practice, funneling their much-needed services into community clinics and public hospitals.
  • Promotes inclusivity and immigrant integration by providing a pathway for foreign-educated professionals to utilize their skills and earn a living in their chosen field.
  • Helps address the state's dental healthcare worker shortage, expanding the availability of essential dental care services for the general public and improving overall community welfare.
  • Creates a two-tiered professional system where foreign-trained dentists are explicitly banned from private practice, which could be seen as discriminatory and limits their economic mobility.
  • The requirement for mandatory direct supervision for six months could subject foreign-trained professionals to potential exploitation or wage suppression by their supervising dentists.
  • The delayed implementation date for the board to promulgate rules (December 1, 2027) stalls immediate relief for marginalized communities urgently needing dental public health services.
For Conservatives
  • Deregulates strict licensing barriers, allowing a free-market approach to increase the supply of dental workers and potentially lower the cost of dental services for institutions.
  • Requires strict oversight by mandating that foreign-trained dentists work under the direct supervision of an established, state-licensed dentist for their first six months.
  • Protects existing private dental practices from immediate direct competition by prohibiting foreign-trained dentists with limited licenses from working in private practice settings.
  • Lowers the traditional barriers to entry for foreign professionals, which could be viewed as compromising the strict, high standards of American medical and dental licensing.
  • Dictates exactly where these professionals can work by banning them from private practice, which interferes with free-market employment and business freedom.
  • Grants broad authority to the board of examiners to determine the examination and educational credentialing standards, expanding the power of unelected bureaucratic agencies.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 47 additions · 3 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 5-31.1-22 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-31.1 entitled "Dentists and Dental Hygienists" is hereby amended to read as follows: 5-31.1-22. Limited registrations.

(a) An applicant for limited registration under this chapter who furnishes the board with satisfactory proof that the applicant is eighteen (18) years of age or older and of good moral character, that the applicant has graduated from a dental school accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation or its designated agency and approved by the board, and that the applicant has been appointed an intern, resident, fellow, or dental officer in a hospital or other institution maintained by the state, or by a city or town, or in a hospital or clinic that is incorporated under the laws of this state or in a clinic that is affiliated with a hospital licensed by the department of health, or in an outpatient clinic operated by the state, may, upon the payment as set forth in § 23-1-54, be registered by the board as a hospital dental officer for any time that the board prescribes; but that limited registration entitles the applicant to practice dentistry in the hospital or other institution designated on his or her certificate of limited registration, or outside that hospital or other institution for the treatment, under the supervision of one of its dental officers who is a licensed dentist, in the state of persons accepted by it as patients, or in any hospital, institution, clinic, or program affiliated for training purposes with the hospital, institution, or clinic designated on this certificate, which affiliation is approved by the board, and in any case under regulations established by that hospital, institution, or clinic. Each hospital, institution, or clinic shall annually submit to the board a list of training programs that comply with the terms of this section. Limited registration under this section may be revoked at any time by the board. The board and/or the director may promulgate any rules and regulations that it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. (b)(1) Foreign-trained dentists are eligible for limited licenses provided the dentist:

(i) Graduated from a reputable dental college as defined in this section;

(ii) Practices under the direct supervision of a supervisory dentist for the first six (6) months of practice and then be eligible for general supervision as determined by the supervising dentist; and

(iii) Has passed an examination as determined by the board of examiners in dentistry.

(2) Foreign trained dentists with limited licenses are excluded from working in a private practice setting.

(c) Foreign-trained dental hygienists are eligible for limited licenses, provided the dental hygienist:

(1) Graduated from a reputable dental hygiene college as defined in this section;

(2) Practices under the supervision of a supervising dentist; and

(3) Has passed an examination as determined by the board of examiners in dentistry.

(d) Limited registration or licensure under this section may be revoked at any time by the director of the department of health or by the board.

(e) A dental college shall be considered reputable which possesses the following qualifications:

(1) It shall be incorporated and authorized by its charter to confer degrees of doctor of dental medicine, doctor of dental surgery, or doctor of dental science;

(2) It shall have a competent faculty and corps of instructors. The teaching staff shall deliver a comprehensive and satisfactory course of lectures supplemented by adequate clinical and laboratory exercises in all subjects pertaining to modern dentistry;

(3) It shall give a course of not less than four (4) separate academic years to matriculants who are graduates of accredited high schools or who present proof of equivalent training, or a course of not less than three (3) separate academic years to matriculants who present satisfactory proof of having successfully completed two (2) years of appropriate pre-dental training in a college or university authorized to grant degrees. Each academic year shall consist of not less than thirty- two (32) weeks and said course is to be reviewed by a credentialing agency approved by the board; and

(4) The administrative policy of the dental college shall be such as to accomplish the requirements of this section.

(f) A dental hygiene college shall be considered reputable which possesses the following qualifications:

(1) It shall be incorporated and authorized by its charter to confer, at a minimum, an associate degree in dental hygiene;

(2) It shall have a competent faculty and corps of instructors. The teaching staff shall deliver a comprehensive and satisfactory course of lectures supplemented by adequate clinical and laboratory exercises in all subjects pertaining to modern dental hygiene;

(3) It shall give a course of not less than two (2) separate academic years to matriculants who are graduates of accredited high schools or who present proof of equivalent training. Each academic year shall consist of not less than thirty-two (32) weeks; and

(4) The administrative policy of the dental hygiene college shall be such as to accomplish the requirements of this section.

(g) The board shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section by December 1, 2027.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.