The North Dakota Board of Dental Examiners (NDBDE) and the Legislative Administrative Rules Committee recently approved AAO-suggested administrative rule changes to expand the scope of practice for dental assistants and qualified dental assistants.
The change allows for an improvement in access to care while ensuring adequate safeguards are in place to protect the health and safety of patients in North Dakota, and builds on previous AAO Advocacy workforce success in other states (an evidence-based AAO policy priority).
Earlier this year, the NDBDE announced its plans to promulgate rules to allow qualified dental assistants to perform orthodontic duties after the required 300 hours of on-the-job training. AAO member and North Dakota orthodontist, Dr. Daniel Keith, alerted the AAO of the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed changes to ensure that dental assistants and qualified dental assistants could perform orthodontic tasks that they are trained to do, under the appropriate supervision. The change is a step toward solutions for access to orthodontic care in North Dakota.
During the rulemaking process over the past nine months, with important leadership from AAO Advocacy Manager Gianna Nawrocki and AAO Interim General Counsel Adam Braundmeier, the AAO provided comments that supported the proposed changes. In addition, the AAO offered feedback on draft language regarding digital scanning to ensure patient health and safety is the priority, by including language to ensure that a final scan for a prescriptive fixed or removable appliance is reviewed and inspected by the dentist.
The NDBDE supported the AAO’s suggested changes and included such language in the final rules.
“These increased delegation of duties for assistants will have a positive impact for every orthodontist in North Dakota and create more job opportunities for those interested in becoming a dental assistant in an orthodontic office,” Dr. Keith explains. “It will also, I hope, encourage other orthodontists to take more Medicaid patients as having additional help will undoubtedly open patient opportunities for those who need our services most now that our teams have been empowered to maximize their skillset under the appropriate supervision.”
The AAO believes the new rules adequately balance the need of addressing the workforce shortage issues faced by dentists and orthodontists in North Dakota and will undoubtedly allow for an improvement in access to care all while ensuring that adequate safeguards are in place for protecting the health and safety of patients in North Dakota.
The new rules went into effect October 1, 2024.
The AAO greatly appreciates the time and energy that the NDBDE and AAO members in North Dakota have invested in this rulemaking process. The AAO recognizes the ongoing national shortage of dental assistants who are not only trained in, but allowed to perform, orthodontic tasks and its impact on the provision of care to patients across the country.
In 2021 the AAO developed a Workforce Shortage Task Force to explore and create a plan to address orthodontic staffing challenges. Since then, AAO advocacy initiatives have been successful or ongoing in Michigan, Maryland, New York, California, and Ontario, and we continue to monitor rulemaking related to dental support staff across the country.
Contributing to the AAO Political Action Committee (AAOPAC) helps fuel our advocacy success in Washington, D.C. and in states throughout the country. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of AAOPAC. To learn more and make your special 30th anniversary gift now, please visit AAOPAC.org.
