Dental Access Legislation AB 1174 Moves to Governor’s Desk

Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Legislature voted in support of legislation to help prevent and treat dental disease among California’s most vulnerable populations—underserved children and adults who lack access to needed dental care. It passed out of the Senate on special consent and passed out of the Assembly with a vote of 74 to 0. The bill now goes to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown, who has until the end of September to act on the legislation.

AB 1174, authored by Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra, would make it possible to implement the Virtual Dental Home (VDH) demonstration project statewide. The VDH is an innovative dental delivery system that brings dental care to patients in places like schools, Head Start sites, and assisted living centers. Under the demonstration project, dental hygienists and assistants use the latest technology to communicate with a supervising dentist and provide care to patients in these non-traditional settings.

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