225 ILCS 25/17

(225 ILCS 25/17)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)

Sec. 17. Acts constituting the practice of dentistry. A person practices dentistry, within the meaning of this Act:

(1) Who represents himself or herself as being able to diagnose or diagnoses, treats, prescribes, or operates for any disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, or physical condition of the human tooth, teeth, alveolar process, gums, or jaw; or

(2) Who is a manager, proprietor, operator, or conductor of a business where dental operations are performed; or

(3) Who performs dental operations of any kind; or

(4) Who uses an X-Ray machine or X-Ray films for dental diagnostic purposes; or

(5) Who extracts a human tooth or teeth, or corrects or attempts to correct malpositions of the human teeth or jaws; or

(6) Who offers or undertakes, by any means or method, to diagnose, treat, or remove stains, calculus, and bonding materials from human teeth or jaws; or

(7) Who uses or administers local or general anesthetics in the treatment of dental or oral diseases or in any preparation incident to a dental operation of any kind or character; or

(8) Who takes material or digital scans for final impressions of the human tooth, teeth, or jaws or performs any phase of any operation incident to the replacement of a part of a tooth, a tooth, teeth, or associated tissues by means of a filling, a crown, a bridge, a denture, or other appliance; or

(9) Who offers to furnish, supply, construct, reproduce, or repair, or who furnishes, supplies, constructs, reproduces, or repairs, prosthetic dentures, bridges, or other substitutes for natural teeth to the user or prospective user thereof; or

(10) Who instructs students on clinical matters or performs any clinical operation included in the curricula of recognized dental schools and colleges; or

(11) Who takes material or digital scans for final impressions of human teeth or places his or her hands in the mouth of any person for the purpose of applying teeth whitening materials, or who takes impressions of human teeth or places his or her hands in the mouth of any person for the purpose of assisting in the application of teeth whitening materials. A person does not practice dentistry when he or she discloses to the consumer that he or she is not licensed as a dentist under this Act and (i) discusses the use of teeth whitening materials with a consumer purchasing these materials; (ii) provides instruction on the use of teeth whitening materials with a consumer purchasing these materials; or (iii) provides appropriate equipment on-site to the consumer for the consumer to self-apply teeth whitening materials.

The fact that any person engages in or performs, or offers to engage in or perform, any of the practices, acts, or operations set forth in this Section, shall be prima facie evidence that such person is engaged in the practice of dentistry.

The following practices, acts, and operations, however, are exempt from the operation of this Act:

(a) The rendering of dental relief in emergency cases in the practice of his or her profession by a physician or surgeon, licensed as such under the laws of this State, unless he or she undertakes to reproduce or reproduces lost parts of the human teeth in the mouth or to restore or replace lost or missing teeth in the mouth; or

(b) The practice of dentistry in the discharge of their official duties by dentists in any branch of the Armed Services of the United States, the United States Public Health Service, or the United States Veterans Administration; or

(c) The practice of dentistry by students in their course of study in dental schools or colleges approved by the Department, when acting under the direction and supervision of dentists acting as instructors; or

(d) The practice of dentistry by clinical instructors in the course of their teaching duties in dental schools or colleges approved by the Department:

(i) when acting under the direction and supervision of dentists, provided that such clinical instructors have instructed continuously in this State since January 1, 1986; or

(ii) when holding the rank of full professor at such approved dental school or college and possessing a current valid license or authorization to practice dentistry in another country; or

(e) The practice of dentistry by licensed dentists of other states or countries at meetings of the Illinois State Dental Society or component parts thereof, alumni meetings of dental colleges, or any other like dental organizations, while appearing as clinicians; or

(f) The use of X-Ray machines for exposing X-Ray films of dental or oral tissues by dental hygienists or dental assistants; or

(g) The performance of any dental service by a dental assistant, if such service is performed under the supervision and full responsibility of a dentist. In addition, after being authorized by a dentist, a dental assistant may, for the purpose of eliminating pain or discomfort, remove loose, broken, or irritating orthodontic appliances on a patient of record.

For purposes of this paragraph (g), "dental service" is defined to mean any intraoral procedure or act which shall be prescribed by rule or regulation of the Department. "Dental service", however, shall not include:

(1) Any and all diagnosis of or prescription for treatment of disease, pain, deformity, deficiency, injury, or physical condition of the human teeth or jaws, or adjacent structures.

(2) Removal of, restoration of, or addition to the hard or soft tissues of the oral cavity, except for the placing, carving, and finishing of amalgam restorations and placing, packing, and finishing composite restorations by dental assistants who have had additional formal education and certification.

A dental assistant may place, carve, and finish amalgam restorations, place, pack, and finish composite restorations, and place interim restorations if he or she (A) has successfully completed a structured training program as described in item (2) of subsection (g) provided by an educational institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, such as a dental school or dental hygiene or dental assistant program, or (B) has at least 4,000 hours of direct clinical patient care experience and has successfully completed a structured training program as described in item (2) of subsection (g) provided by a statewide dental association, approved by the Department to provide continuing education, that has developed and conducted training programs for expanded functions for dental assistants or hygienists. The training program must: (i) include a minimum of 16 hours of didactic study and 14 hours of clinical manikin instruction; all training programs shall include areas of study in nomenclature, caries classifications, oral anatomy, periodontium, basic occlusion, instrumentations, pulp protection liners and bases, dental materials, matrix and wedge techniques, amalgam placement and carving, rubber dam clamp placement, and rubber dam placement and removal; (ii) include an outcome assessment examination that demonstrates competency; (iii) require the supervising dentist to observe and approve the completion of 8 amalgam or composite restorations; and (iv) issue a certificate of completion of the training program, which must be kept on file at the dental office and be made available to the Department upon request. A dental assistant must have successfully completed an approved coronal polishing and dental sealant course prior to taking the amalgam and composite restoration course.

A dentist utilizing dental assistants shall not supervise more than 4 dental assistants at any one time for placing, carving, and finishing of amalgam restorations or for placing, packing, and finishing composite restorations.

(3) Any and all correction of malformation of teeth or of the jaws.

(4) Administration of anesthetics, except for monitoring of nitrous oxide, moderate sedation, deep sedation, and general anesthetic as provided in Section 8.1 of this Act, that may be performed only after successful completion of a training program approved by the Department. A dentist utilizing dental assistants shall not supervise more than 4 dental assistants at any one time for the monitoring of nitrous oxide.

(5) Removal of calculus from human teeth.

(6) Taking of material or digital scans for final impressions for the fabrication of prosthetic appliances, crowns, bridges, inlays, onlays, or other restorative or replacement dentistry.

(7) The operative procedure of dental hygiene consisting of oral prophylactic procedures, except for coronal polishing and pit and fissure sealants, which may be performed by a dental assistant who has successfully completed a training program approved by the Department. Dental assistants may perform coronal polishing under the following circumstances: (i) the coronal polishing shall be limited to polishing the clinical crown of the tooth and existing restorations, supragingivally; (ii) the dental assistant performing the coronal polishing shall be limited to the use of rotary instruments using a rubber cup or brush polishing method (air polishing is not permitted); and (iii) the supervising dentist shall not supervise more than 4 dental assistants at any one time for the task of coronal polishing or pit and fissure sealants.

In addition to coronal polishing and pit and fissure sealants as described in this item (7), a dental assistant who has at least 2,000 hours of direct clinical patient care experience and who has successfully completed a structured training program provided by (1) an educational institution including, but not limited to, a dental school or dental hygiene or dental assistant program, (2) a continuing education provider approved by the Department, or (3) a statewide dental or dental hygienist association that has developed and conducted a training program for expanded functions for dental assistants or hygienists may perform: (A) coronal scaling above the gum line, supragingivally, on the clinical crown of the tooth only on patients 17 years of age or younger who have an absence of periodontal disease and who are not medically compromised or individuals with special needs and (B) intracoronal temporization of a tooth. The training program must: (I) include a minimum of 32 hours of instruction in both didactic and clinical manikin or human subject instruction; all training programs shall include areas of study in dental anatomy, public health dentistry, medical history, dental emergencies, and managing the pediatric patient; (II) include an outcome assessment examination that demonstrates competency; (III) require the supervising dentist to observe and approve the completion of 6 full mouth supragingival scaling procedures unless the training was received as part of a Commission on Dental Accreditation approved dental assistant program; and (IV) issue a certificate of completion of the training program, which must be kept on file at the dental office and be made available to the Department upon request. A dental assistant must have successfully completed an approved coronal polishing course prior to taking the coronal scaling course. A dental assistant performing these functions shall be limited to the use of hand instruments only. In addition, coronal scaling as described in this paragraph shall only be utilized on patients who are eligible for Medicaid, who are uninsured, or whose household income is not greater than 300% of the federal poverty level. A dentist may not supervise more than 2 dental assistants at any one time for the task of coronal scaling. This paragraph is inoperative on and after January 1, 2026.

The limitations on the number of dental assistants a dentist may supervise contained in items (2), (4), and (7) of this paragraph (g) mean a limit of 4 total dental assistants or dental hygienists doing expanded functions covered by these Sections being supervised by one dentist; or

(h) The practice of dentistry by an individual who:

(i) has applied in writing to the Department, in form and substance satisfactory to the Department, for a general dental license and has complied with all provisions of Section 9 of this Act, except for the passage of the examination specified in subsection (e) of Section 9 of this Act; or

(ii) has applied in writing to the Department, in form and substance satisfactory to the Department, for a temporary dental license and has complied with all provisions of subsection (c) of Section 11 of this Act; and

(iii) has been accepted or appointed for specialty or residency training by a hospital situated in this State; or

(iv) has been accepted or appointed for specialty training in an approved dental program situated in this State; or

(v) has been accepted or appointed for specialty training in a dental public health agency situated in this State.

The applicant shall be permitted to practice dentistry for a period of 3 months from the starting date of the program, unless authorized in writing by the Department to continue such practice for a period specified in writing by the Department.

The applicant shall only be entitled to perform such acts as may be prescribed by and incidental to his or her program of residency or specialty training and shall not otherwise engage in the practice of dentistry in this State.

The authority to practice shall terminate immediately upon:

(1) the decision of the Department that the applicant has failed the examination; or

(2) denial of licensure by the Department; or

(3) withdrawal of the application.

(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-936, eff. 1-1-23; 103-425, eff. 1-1-24; 103-431, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-628, eff. 7-1-24.)