Legislation

🏛️ Legislative Advocacy: Protecting and Advancing Dental Hygiene in Colorado

CODHA advocates for the profession — and the patients we serve.
We work to expand access to oral health care, strengthen professional autonomy, and ensure that dental hygienists have a voice in every policy decision that impacts their work and their patients’ wellbeing.

Colorado General Assembly   Find My CO Legislator  Public Testimony 

Our Mission in Advocacy

CODHA’s legislative efforts are focused on:

• Expanding access to care through prevention-based and community-focused oral health services

• Promoting professional growth by supporting a modern, evidence-based scope of practice for dental hygienists

• Protecting licensure and professional integrity through fair regulation and collaboration with the Colorado Dental Board and DORA

• Empowering hygienists to understand, engage with, and influence the laws that shape their profession

“When hygienists are at the table, communities win.”

Recent Legislative Wins

Colorado continues to lead the nation in forward-thinking dental hygiene legislation.
Through the combined efforts of CODHA members, volunteers, and partners, we have achieved many legislative wins over many decades. 

• CODHA Legislation over the years

Current Advocacy Priorities

CODHA continues to engage in ongoing rulemaking and legislative work related to:

• Neuromodulators and Dermal Fillers

• Vaccine Administration

• Expanded Prescriptive Authority

• Dental Workforce Development and Recruitment

• Expand Reimbursement for Dental Hygiene Services

Get Involved

Your voice matters — and collective action drives progress.
Ways to engage:

• Join CODHA’s Legislative Committee - Volunteer form

• Participate in Legislative Day at the Capitol - Watch the Calendar

• Support our Advocacy Fund and CODHA Merch to sustain year-round representation

• Stay Informed: Subscribe to CODHA Word of Mouth

CODHA represents you at the Capitol — but real change happens when members participate.

Stay Connected

Follow CODHA on social media for updates on legislation, rulemaking, and advocacy wins across the state.
Together, we ensure that dental hygienists remain at the forefront of public health and professional progress.

What does SB 25-194, Sunset Dental Practice Act, do?

• ✅ Move local anesthesia administration by RDH to unsupervised dental hygiene
• ✅ Move nitrous oxide administration by RDH to indirect supervision
• ✅ Allow dental hygienists to supervise dental assistants within the dental hygiene scope of practice
• ✅ Allow dental hygienists to administer neuromodulators (including Botox) and dermal fillers under direct supervision of a dentist OR delegation of a physician
• ✅ Allow dental hygienists to administer vaccines (HPV and other respiratory vaccines) under direct supervision of a dentist OR delegation of a medical provider
• ✅ Allow dental hygienists to perform screening tests for medical conditions related to oral health (HbA1C, blood glucose, salivary testing, etc.)
• ✅ Define teledentistry
• ✅ Clarify definition of “accredited” to mean accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation
• ✅ Maintaining 3 dental hygiene seats on the Colorado Dental Board and extending the requirement for dental therapists to be represented on the dental board until there are at least 100 licensed dental therapists in Colorado.
• ✅ Requirement for new licensees to complete a jurisprudence CE course as part of initial licensure
• ✅ Allow dental hygienists to create a “dental hygiene laboratory work order” for medicament carriers such as fluoride trays and/or periodontal trays (i.e. Perio Protect)
• ✅ Move list of medications a dental hygienist can prescribe into rules (instead of statute)
• ✅ Expand limited prescriptive authority for dental hygienists to include antibiotics and non-narcotic analgesics
• ✅ Remove requirements for dentist supervising a RDH for ITR to have a physical practice location in Colorado
• ✅ Removed references to dental hygiene scope within the section regarding dental assistant scope for clarity
• Next step... rulemaking by the Colorado Dental Board for specific rules on how these changes will be implemented. Stay tuned!

🔒 Important Reminder:
Many of the changes introduced in SB25-194 cannot take effect until new rules are written and adopted by the Colorado Dental Board. That means you may not begin providing those new services yet—even if they’re outlined in the new law.

- check out our Legal Resources Page for the updated practice act and newest Dental Board Rules 

⚠️ CODHA’s Guidance:

CODHA strongly encourages all dental providers to stay within their current scope of practice.
Practicing outside your legal scope:

Your liability coverage applies only to procedures that are within your legal scope of practice at the time of service.

SB25-194 Rule Making Timeline

08/12/2025

On Aug 6, 2025, SB25-194 took effect, extending the Dental Practice Act to 2034 with new RDH scope updates. Many changes await Dental Board rulemaking, so RDHs must follow current rules until new regulations are adopted.

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