Bill Commons

DE SB 131

enacted

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ALLOWING DENTAL HYGIENISTS TO ADMINISTER LOCAL ANESTHESIA.

Delaware · 2025-2026 Regular Session (153rd General Assembly) · upper

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Quick answers

Did DE SB 131 pass?

Yes. DE SB 131 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-08-25): Signed by Governor

What is DE SB 131 about?

This Act expands the definition of the “practice of dental hygiene” under Title 24 (Professions and Occupations) to include the administration of local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist and directs the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene (“Board”) to establish the necessary requirements and standards. Currently, Delaware is the only state in the nation that does not allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia. Delaware also suffers from a shortage of dental care providers, leaving many Delawareans unable to access timely, quality, affordable dental care. Administering local anesthesia is a task that properly trained dental hygienists can do safely, as shown by the experiences of every other state. Expanding dental hygienists’ scope of practice to allow them to administer local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist will enable them to provide a broader range of services to patients and take some of the burden off the state’s limited supply of dentists. Section 4 of this Act requires the Board to adopt regulations setting the requirements and standards to allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia under direct supervision of a licensed dentist no later than January 1, 2026. Section 5 of this Act provides that Sections 1 through 3 of this Act are effective on either January 1, 2026, or when the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene publishes final regulations implementing the Act, whichever is earlier. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Who sponsors DE SB 131?

David L. Wilson, Ray Seigfried, Nicole Poore and 5 others are the primary sponsors of DE SB 131.

Description

This Act expands the definition of the “practice of dental hygiene” under Title 24 (Professions and Occupations) to include the administration of local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist and directs the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene (“Board”) to establish the necessary requirements and standards. Currently, Delaware is the only state in the nation that does not allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia. Delaware also suffers from a shortage of dental care providers, leaving many Delawareans unable to access timely, quality, affordable dental care. Administering local anesthesia is a task that properly trained dental hygienists can do safely, as shown by the experiences of every other state. Expanding dental hygienists’ scope of practice to allow them to administer local anesthesia under the direct supervision of a licensed dentist will enable them to provide a broader range of services to patients and take some of the burden off the state’s limited supply of dentists. Section 4 of this Act requires the Board to adopt regulations setting the requirements and standards to allow dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia under direct supervision of a licensed dentist no later than January 1, 2026. Section 5 of this Act provides that Sections 1 through 3 of this Act are effective on either January 1, 2026, or when the State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene publishes final regulations implementing the Act, whichever is earlier. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Introduced
2025-05-08
Latest action
2025-08-25 — Signed by Governor
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • David L. Wilsonprimary
  • Ray Seigfriedprimary
  • Nicole Pooreprimary
  • Melanie Ross Levinprimary
  • Franklin D. Cookeprimary
  • Kerri Evelyn Harrisprimary
  • Bryan Townsendprimary
  • Marie Pinkneyprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2025-08-25

    Signed by Governor

    executive-signature

  2. 2025-06-24

    Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 VACANT

    passage

  3. 2025-06-17

    Reported Out of Committee (Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)) in House with 5 On Its Merits

    committee-passage

  4. 2025-06-11

    Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House

    introduction,referral-committee

  5. 2025-06-10

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 3 ABSENT

    passage

  6. 2025-05-21

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 7 Favorable

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  7. 2025-05-09

    Re-Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

  8. 2025-05-08

    Introduced and Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Not provided by source.

Documents

Not provided by source.

Votes

  • SM

    2025-06-10 · pass · 18-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Darius J. Brown: other
    • Eric Buckson: yes
    • Daniel Cruce: yes
    • Stephanie L. Hansen: yes
    • Gerald W. Hocker: other
    • Kyra L. Hoffner: yes
    • Russell Huxtable: yes
    • Dave G. Lawson: yes
    • S. Elizabeth Lockman: yes
    • Spiros Mantzavinos: yes
    • Trey Paradee: yes
    • Brian Pettyjohn: yes
    • Marie Pinkney: yes
    • Nicole Poore: yes
    • Bryant L. Richardson: yes
    • Ray Seigfried: yes
    • David P. Sokola: yes
    • Laura V. Sturgeon: yes
    • Bryan Townsend: yes
    • John "Jack" Walsh: yes
    • David L. Wilson: other

  • 2/3

    2025-06-24 · pass · 40-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Stephanie T. Bolden: yes
    • Frank Burns: yes
    • William Bush: yes
    • William J. Carson: yes
    • Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha: yes
    • Richard G. Collins: yes
    • Franklin D. Cooke: yes
    • Daniel B. Short: yes
    • Timothy D. Dukes: yes
    • Mara Gorman: yes
    • Ronald E. Gray: yes
    • Krista Griffith: yes
    • Kerri Evelyn Harris: yes
    • Debra Heffernan: yes
    • Kevin S Hensley: yes
    • Jeff Hilovsky: yes
    • Valerie Jones Giltner: yes
    • Kendra Johnson: yes
    • Kimberly Williams: yes
    • Kamela T Smith: yes
    • Larry Lambert: yes
    • Sean M. Lynn: yes
    • Michael F. Smith: yes
    • Melissa Minor-Brown: yes
    • Shannon Morris: yes
    • Eric Morrison: yes
    • DeShanna U Neal: yes
    • Josue O Ortega: yes
    • Edward S. Osienski: yes
    • Sophie Phillips: yes
    • Charles S Postles Jr.: yes
    • Cyndie Romer: yes
    • Melanie Ross Levin: yes
    • Sherae'a Moore: yes
    • Bryan W. Shupe: yes
    • Claire Snyder-Hall: yes
    • Jeffrey N. Spiegelman: yes
    • Jesse R. Vanderwende: yes
    • Madinah Wilson-Anton: yes
    • Lyndon D. Yearick: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142237

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T03:53:51.443619Z

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