Illinois Rep. Mah’s dental practice amendment bill passes House and Senate

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Theresa Mah aims to update regulations in the Illinois Dental Practice Act, focusing on licensure conditions and public health dental supervision agreements, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 76 Democrats and 36 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 38 Democrats and seven Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 11 Republicans voted against it.

Mah introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB3019, was passed on May 31, 2025 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Changes the repeal date of the Illinois Dental Practice Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2036. Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. In the definition of “branches of dentistry”, adds oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental public health, oral medicine, and orofacial pain to the included specialties. Creates a temporary dental hygiene license for dental students who meet certain requirements. Provides that a licensee holding a temporary dental hygiene license must practice under the supervision of a dentist. Provides that the temporary dental hygiene license is active for one year from its issuance date. Changes the implementation deadline for an order regarding the services that are necessary to be performed on a patient who is in a State or federal prison and who cannot travel to a dental office to 180 days of the order’s issuance (rather than 45 days of the order’s issuance). Removes language providing that provisions concerning public health dentistry are inoperative on and after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act to incorporate definitions and regulations related to the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene, particularly focusing on the roles of license-pending general dentists and dental hygienists. It establishes conditions under which applicants for licensure in these roles may practice under supervision. It also outlines public health dental supervision agreements between dentists and public health dental hygienists. These agreements stipulate that public health dental hygienists can provide certain preventive services without the dentist present, provided there is a written agreement in place. The bill includes specific requirements for maintaining dental records and supervising public health activities, and it mandates annual reporting of public health services data. The provisions of this bill become effective immediately upon enactment.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (Democrat-19th District), Sen. Adriane Johnson (Democrat-30th District), and Rep. Ann M. Williams (Democrat-11th District), along with 16 other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Mah graduated from the University of California in 1991 with a BA.

Mah, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 24th House District, replacing previous state representative Elizabeth Hernandez.

While the final vote determined the bill’s passage, lawmakers in both chambers held additional votes related to concurrences. These earlier votes are included below for context.