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This bill requires that all public school students submit certification that they have received a dental exam within the last year, before entering kindergarten. H.444 also mandates that the Department of Public Health (DPH) create a standardized reporting form to be collected by the school system and further requires that DPH create an electronic database system to collect the information. This statewide database will provide a better understanding of dental disease and access issues across the Commonwealth.
This bill has been introduced in the Senate and would create a volunteer dental license, which would primarily benefit retired dentists. Licensees would be prohibited from accepting any form of compensation and would have to volunteer their expertise in a qualified free-care program. There would be no fee attached to this license, but the license would have to comply with all the requirements of a regular dental license set forth by the Board of Registration in Dentistry. The bill cites two federal programs that could potentially provide immunity for the volunteer.
Thousands of oral injuries occur in sports where mouth guards are not required, resulting in families spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in dental expenses that could have been avoided by using protection. S.805 directs DPH to conduct a comprehensive study of oral injuries in school sports, including information about the extent of injuries and the identification of high-risk sports. The report must be submitted to the House and Senate before the end of 2009. Undoubtedly, this information can be used to ensure that student athletes are required to wear mouth guards in high-risk sports, protecting them from unnecessary pain and expense.
There are many children across the Commonwealth whose disabilities, age, dental disease, or other factors require that they be sedated in order to receive oral health treatment. Unfortunately, insurance companies will often refuse to pay for the anesthesia, citing the procedure as not medically necessary. This bill seeks to remedy that situation.
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