New legislation maintains high standards while improving professional mobility

HARRISBURG, Pa. (March 13, 2025) – Pennsylvania legislators introduced the Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact (IDDHL Compact), backed by the American Association of Dental Boards (AADB). This compact aims to maintain high licensing standards, including practical hand skills exams, while improving professional mobility for dentists and dental hygienists.

The IDDHL compact, introduced as HB787, preserves the requirement for a practical hand skills exam in dental licensing. This aligns with public sentiment, as revealed by a recent national survey commissioned by the AADB. The survey of 1,863 registered U.S. voters, conducted from December 30, 2024, to January 9, 2025, found that 82% of Americans believe hand skills examinations are necessary to assess a dentist’s ability to perform procedures safely. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.28 percentage points.

“The Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact supports high standards while promoting portability, which is especially important given the number of dental schools in Pennsylvania,” said Dr. John Erhard, III, Former Chair of the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry. “This compact ensures patient safety and maintains public trust in our profession by requiring practical hand skills tests and continuing education.”

For over a century, Pennsylvania law has required dentists and dental hygienists to pass a clinical hand skills exam to demonstrate their ability to competently perform basic dental procedures. This exam protects the public from practitioners who lack the necessary hand-eye coordination to safely treat patients. Each year, a small but significant percentage of dental professionals fail the hand skills exam, even after multiple attempts.

The survey shows strong public support for maintaining high standards in dental licensing:

• More than two-thirds agree that current licensing standards should not be reduced
• Two-thirds oppose allowing dentists licensed under weaker standards in other states to practice in their state

“This compact and the survey results confirm that patients want assurance their dentists and dental hygienists can perform procedures competently and safely,” said Arthur Chen-Shu Jee, DMD, President of the Board of Directors of AADB. “The hand skills test provides that assurance. As we consider changes to licensing, we must remember these vital exams directly impact patient safety and public trust in our profession.”

The Interstate Dental & Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact (HB787) stands in contrast to another proposed compact, the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, which would eliminate the hand skills exam requirement for dental licensing.