Bill Text: IL HB1739 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. Adds provisions concerning the licensing of denturists by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, including qualifications, applications, examinations, and the creation of the Board of Denture Technology. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-18 - Assigned to Health Care Licenses Committee [HB1739 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1739-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1739 Introduced , by Rep. Amy Briel SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
225 ILCS 25/4 from Ch. 111, par. 2304
225 ILCS 25/6.5 new
225 ILCS 25/7 from Ch. 111, par. 2307
225 ILCS 25/11.5 new
225 ILCS 25/20 from Ch. 111, par. 2320
Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. Adds provisions concerning the licensing of denturists by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, including qualifications, applications, examinations, and the creation of the Board of Denture Technology. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Dental Practice Act is amended by
changing Section 4, 7, and 20 and by adding Sections 6.5 and
11.5 as follows:
(225 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 2304)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Address of record" means the designated address recorded
by the Department in the applicant's or licensee's application
file or license file as maintained by the Department's
licensure maintenance unit. It is the duty of the applicant or
licensee to inform the Department of any change of address and
those changes must be made either through the Department's
website or by contacting the Department.
"Department" means the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and
Professional Regulation.
"Board" means the Board of Dentistry.
"Dentist" means a person who has received a general
license pursuant to subsection paragraph (a) of Section 11 of

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this Act and who may perform any intraoral and extraoral
procedure required in the practice of dentistry and to whom is
reserved the responsibilities specified in Section 17.
"Dental hygienist" means a person who holds a license
under this Act to perform dental services as authorized by
Section 18.
"Dental assistant" means an appropriately trained person
who, under the supervision of a dentist, provides dental
services as authorized by Section 17.
"Expanded function dental assistant" means a dental
assistant who has completed the training required by Section
17.1 of this Act.
"Dental laboratory" means a person, firm, or corporation
which:
(i) engages in making, providing, repairing, or
altering dental prosthetic appliances and other artificial
materials and devices which are returned to a dentist for
insertion into the human oral cavity or which come in
contact with its adjacent structures and tissues; and
(ii) utilizes or employs a dental technician to
provide such services; and
(iii) performs such functions only for a dentist or
dentists.
"Supervision" means supervision of a dental hygienist or a
dental assistant requiring that a dentist authorize the
procedure, remain in the dental facility while the procedure

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is performed, and approve the work performed by the dental
hygienist or dental assistant before dismissal of the patient,
but does not mean that the dentist must be present at all times
in the treatment room.
"General supervision" means supervision of a dental
hygienist requiring that the patient be a patient of record,
that the dentist examine the patient in accordance with
Section 18 prior to treatment by the dental hygienist, and
that the dentist authorize the procedures which are being
carried out by a notation in the patient's record, but not
requiring that a dentist be present when the authorized
procedures are being performed. The issuance of a prescription
to a dental laboratory by a dentist does not constitute
general supervision.
"Public member" means a person who is not a health
professional. For purposes of board membership, any person
with a significant financial interest in a health service or
profession is not a public member.
"Dentistry" means the healing art which is concerned with
the examination, diagnosis, treatment planning, and care of
conditions within the human oral cavity and its adjacent
tissues and structures, as further specified in Section 17.
"Branches of dentistry" means the various specialties of
dentistry which, for purposes of this Act, shall be limited to
the following: endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery,
orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry,

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periodontics, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial
radiology, and dental anesthesiology.
"Specialist" means a dentist who has received a specialty
license pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 11 11(b).
"Dental technician" means a person who owns, operates, or
is employed by a dental laboratory and engages in making,
providing, repairing, or altering dental prosthetic appliances
and other artificial materials and devices which are returned
to a dentist for insertion into the human oral cavity or which
come in contact with its adjacent structures and tissues.
"Denture" means any removable full or partial upper or
lower prosthetic dental appliance to be worn in the human
mouth to replace any missing natural teeth.
"Denturist" means a person licensed under Section 11.5 to
engage in the practice of denture technology and who is
authorized within the person's scope of practice to provide to
the public full or partial upper or lower dentures or other
removable nonorthodontic dental appliances intended to be worn
in the human mouth.
"Practice of denture technology" means:
(1) constructing, repairing, relining, reproducing,
duplicating, supplying, fitting, or altering a denture or
other removable nonorthodontic dental appliance intended
to be worn in the human mouth with respect to which a
service is performed under paragraph (2); and
(2) the following services when performed for a

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purpose listed in paragraph (1):
(A) the taking of impressions;
(B) the taking of bite registrations;
(C) try-ins of dentures or other removable
nonorthodontic dental appliances intended to be worn
in the human mouth; and
(D) insertions of dentures or other removable
nonorthodontic dental appliances intended to be worn
in the human mouth.
"Informed consent" means legally valid consent that is
given by a patient or legal guardian, that is recorded in
writing or digitally, that authorizes intervention or
treatment services from the treating dentist, and that
documents agreement to participate in those services and
knowledge of the risks, benefits, and alternatives, including
the decision to withdraw from or decline treatment.
"Impaired dentist" or "impaired dental hygienist" means a
dentist or dental hygienist who is unable to practice with
reasonable skill and safety because of a physical or mental
disability as evidenced by a written determination or written
consent based on clinical evidence, including deterioration
through the aging process, loss of motor skills, abuse of
drugs or alcohol, or a psychiatric disorder, of sufficient
degree to diminish the person's ability to deliver competent
patient care.
"Nurse" means a registered professional nurse, a certified

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registered nurse anesthetist licensed as an advanced practice
registered nurse, or a licensed practical nurse licensed under
the Nurse Practice Act.
"Patient of record", except as provided in Section 17.2,
means a patient for whom the patient's most recent dentist has
obtained a relevant medical and dental history and on whom the
dentist has performed a physical examination within the last
year and evaluated the condition to be treated, including a
review of the patient's most recent x-rays.
"Dental responder" means a dentist or dental hygienist who
is appropriately certified in disaster preparedness,
immunizations, and dental humanitarian medical response
consistent with the Society of Disaster Medicine and Public
Health and training certified by the National Incident
Management System or the National Disaster Life Support
Foundation.
"Mobile dental van or portable dental unit" means any
self-contained or portable dental unit in which dentistry is
practiced that can be moved, towed, or transported from one
location to another in order to establish a location where
dental services can be provided.
"Public health dental hygienist" means a hygienist who
holds a valid license to practice in the State, has 2 years of
full-time clinical experience or an equivalent of 4,000 hours
of clinical experience, and has completed at least 42 clock
hours of additional structured courses in dental education in

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advanced areas specific to public health dentistry.
"Public health setting" means a federally qualified health
center; a federal, State, or local public health facility;
Head Start; a special supplemental nutrition program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) facility; a certified
school-based health center or school-based oral health
program; a prison; or a long-term care facility.
"Public health supervision" means the supervision of a
public health dental hygienist by a licensed dentist who has a
written public health supervision agreement with that public
health dental hygienist while working in an approved facility
or program that allows the public health dental hygienist to
treat patients, without a dentist first examining the patient
and being present in the facility during treatment, (1) who
are eligible for Medicaid or (2) who are uninsured or whose
household income is not greater than 300% of the federal
poverty level.
"Teledentistry" means the use of telehealth systems and
methodologies in dentistry and includes patient diagnosis,
treatment planning, care, and education delivery for a patient
of record using synchronous and asynchronous communications
under an Illinois licensed dentist's authority as provided
under this Act.
"Moderate sedation" means a drug-induced depression of
consciousness during which: (1) patients respond purposefully
to verbal commands, either alone or accompanied by light

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tactile stimulation; (2) no interventions are required to
maintain a patient's airway and spontaneous ventilation is
adequate; and (3) cardiovascular function is usually
maintained.
"Deep sedation" means a drug-induced depression of
consciousness during which: (1) patients cannot be easily
aroused, but respond purposefully following repeated or
painful stimulation; (2) the ability to independently maintain
ventilatory function may be impaired; (3) patients may require
assistance in maintaining airways and spontaneous ventilation
may be inadequate; and (4) cardiovascular function is usually
maintained.
"General anesthesia" means a drug-induced loss of
consciousness during which: (1) patients are not arousable,
even by painful stimulation; (2) the ability to independently
maintain ventilatory function is often impaired; (3) patients
often require assistance in maintaining airways and positive
pressure ventilation may be required because of depressed
spontaneous ventilation or drug-induced depression of
neuromuscular function; and (4) cardiovascular function may be
impaired.
"Venipuncture" means the puncture of a vein as part of a
medical procedure, typically to withdraw a blood sample or for
an intravenous catheter for the administration of medication
or fluids.
"Enteral route of administration" means administration of

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a drug that is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract or
through oral, rectal, or sublingual mucosa.
"Parenteral route of administration" means administration
of a drug by which the drug bypasses the gastrointestinal
tract through intramuscular, intravenous, intranasal,
submucosal, subcutaneous, or intraosseous methods.
(Source: P.A. 102-93, eff. 1-1-22; 102-588, 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; 103-902,
eff. 8-9-24; revised 10-10-24.)
(225 ILCS 25/6.5 new)
Sec. 6.5. Board of Denture Technology.
(a) There is created a Board of Denture Technology, which
is composed of the following persons appointed by the
Secretary: 4 must have practiced denture technology for a
period of 5 or more years; one must be an dentist licensed
under this Act; and 2 must be members of the public who do not
possess the professional qualifications of other members and
who are not a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, or
sibling of an active licensed denturist or dentist. The
membership of the Board shall include only residents from
various geographic areas of this State and shall include at
least some graduates from various institutions of dental
education in this State. In making appointments to the Board,
the Secretary shall give due consideration to recommendations

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by organizations of the dental profession in Illinois,
including the Illinois State Dental Society, and shall
promptly give due notice to such organizations of any vacancy
in the membership of the Board.
(b) The board shall annually elect a chairman and
vice-chairman who shall be individuals who have practiced
denture technology for a period of 5 or more years.
(c) Terms for all members shall be for 4 years. Partial
terms over 2 years in length shall be considered as full terms.
A member may be reappointed for a successive term, but no
member shall serve more than 2 full terms in his or her
lifetime.
(d) The Secretary may terminate the appointment of any
member for cause which in the opinion of the Secretary
reasonably justifies such termination. A vacancy in the
membership of the Board shall not impair the right of a quorum
to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the
Board.
(e) Any action to be taken by the Board under this Act may
be authorized by resolution at any regular or special meeting,
and each such resolution shall take effect immediately.
(f) The Board shall meet at least quarterly. The members
of the Board shall each receive as compensation a reasonable
sum as determined by the Secretary for each day actually
engaged in the duties of the office, and all legitimate and
necessary expense incurred in attending the meetings of the

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Board.
(g) Members of the Board shall be immune from suit in any
action based upon any disciplinary proceedings or other
activities performed in good faith as members of the Board.
(225 ILCS 25/7) (from Ch. 111, par. 2307)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
Sec. 7. Recommendations by the Board. The Secretary may
consider the recommendations of the Board of Dentistry or the
Board of Denture Technology in establishing guidelines for
professional conduct, for the conduct of formal disciplinary
proceedings brought under this Act, and for establishing
guidelines for qualifications of applicants. Notice of
proposed rulemaking shall be transmitted to the Board of
Dentistry or the Board of Denture Technology and the
Department shall review the response of the Board of Dentistry
or the Board of Denture Technology and any recommendations
made therein. The Department may, at any time, seek the expert
advice and knowledge of the Board of Dentistry or the Board of
Denture Technology on any matter relating to the
administration or enforcement of this Act. The action or
report in writing of a majority of the Board of Dentistry or
the Board of Denture Technology shall be sufficient authority
upon which the Secretary may act.
Whenever the Secretary is satisfied that substantial
justice has not been done either in an examination or in the

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revocation, suspension or refusal to issue a license, the
Secretary may order a reexamination or rehearing.
(Source: P.A. 97-1013, eff. 8-17-12.)
(225 ILCS 25/11.5 new)
Sec. 11.5. Necessity for licensure of denturist.
(a) On or after January 1, 2026, unless a person holds an
active license issued under this Section, a person may not:
(1) engage, or offer to engage, in the practice of
denture technology; or
(2) use in connection with the name of the person the
word "denturist" or any other words, letters, or
abbreviations or insignia tending to indicate that such
person is engaged in the practice of denture technology.
(b) This Section does not apply to:
(1) a person acting under the supervision of a
denturist.
(2) the practice of dentistry or medicine by persons
authorized to do so by this State.
(3) a student of denture technology in pursuit of
clinical studies under an approved school program, or a
person having met the formal educational requirements, who
is operating, for no more than 2 years, under the direct
supervision of a denturist or a licensed dentist in
pursuit of practical clinical experience as required for
licensure under this Act.

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(c) The Department shall issue a license to practice
denture technology to an applicant who, in addition to
submitting an application and paying the applicable fees
established by rule:
(1) provides to the Department official transcripts
verifying completion of an associate degree program in
denture technology, or the equivalent in formal,
post-secondary education, approved by the Department;
(2) provides to the Department documentation of 1,000
hours of supervised clinical practice in denture
technology, completed while enrolled in or after having
completed a course of study offered in a post-secondary
educational institution, or through equivalent supervised
experience, as determined by the Department;
(3) passes a written and a practical examination
prescribed, recognized, or approved by the Board of
Denture Technology. An applicant who fails the practical
examination must complete additional hours of clinical and
laboratory training in an approved work experience
program, as determined by the Board of Denture Technology,
to qualify for reexamination; and
(4) meets other requirements established by the
Department by rule.
The educational program required by paragraph (1) of this
subsection (c) must include pertinent courses in anatomy,
including histology, microbiology, physiology, pharmacology,

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pathology emphasizing periodontology, dental materials,
medical emergencies, geriatrics, professional ethics, clinical
denture technology and denture laboratory technology. The
board may accept educational training obtained in any other
state or country if, upon review of satisfactory evidence, the
Department determines that the educational program in the
other state or country meets the educational standards
prescribed in this Section.
An applicant meets the requirements of paragraph (1) or
(2) of this subsection if the applicant provides the
Department with documentation of military training or
experience that the Department determines is substantially
equivalent to the training or experience required by
subsection (1) or (2) of this subsection.
The Department may adopt rules providing for waiver of the
practical examination requirement.
(d) The Department may adopt rules allowing for issuance
of a temporary license to practice denture technology.
(e) Examinations of applicants for licensure under this
Section shall be held at least once a year at such times and
places as the State Board of Denture Technology may determine.
Timely and appropriate notice shall be given to each
applicant. The examination shall be sufficiently thorough to
determine the qualifications, fitness, and ability of the
applicant to practice denture technology. The examination may
be in the form of written, oral, or practical demonstration of

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skills, or a combination of any such types. The examination
shall cover at least subjects listed in subsection (c) and any
additional subjects required by the Department by rule that
are based on changes in industry technology, health care
delivery systems, client safety, or scientific infection
control techniques.
(f) The Department may issue a license to practice denture
technology, without examination, to any person who:
(1) submits an application and pays the applicable
fees established by rule;
(2) has satisfied the educational requirements of this
Section;
(3) is a denturist licensed under the laws of any
other state, the District of Columbia, Canada, or a
territory of the United States, and the standards for
licensing of denturists in the licensing jurisdiction are
determined by the Department to be substantially
equivalent to those of this Section;
(4) has passed a written and practical examination
that the Department determines to be substantially
equivalent to the examination required for licensure in
this State; and
(5) has engaged in the full-time active practice of
denture technology as a licensed denturist in another
jurisdiction for a minimum of 2 years immediately
preceding the date of application for licensure under this

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Section.
(225 ILCS 25/20) (from Ch. 111, par. 2320)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
Sec. 20. Display of licenses. Any person licensed to
practice dentistry, denture technology, or dental hygiene in
this State by the Department as hereinbefore provided, shall
at all times display such license or duplicate original
thereof in a conspicuous place, in his or her office wherein he
or she shall practice such profession, and shall further,
whenever requested, exhibit such license to any of the members
of the Department or its authorized agent. Upon proof by
affidavit, the Department shall provide a duplicate if such
person establishes that his or her license is lost or stolen or
that he or she practices at multiple locations.
(Source: P.A. 89-80, eff. 6-30-95; 89-116, eff. 7-7-95.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.