Executive Director details concerns, participatory experience with CSG
The Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, named in numerous materials as a contributor to the Council on State Government’s Dental and Dental Hygiene Compact, firmly stated it does not support the proposed legislation.
During its August 2023 meeting, the board recorded an official stance to be captured in its minutes. The record states:
“Resolved, after reviewing the compact produced by the Council on State Governments, the Board is not in favor of the compact.” The motion was adopted after a unanimous vote in the affirmative.
Executive Director Dr. Arthur Hickham, Jr. acknowledged his participation in the early stages of the CSG Compact’s development.
“It was a frustrating experience for me; at one point, I was told, ‘Well, maybe your state just shouldn’t join,’ For the first phase of it, I was there, but then I had enough. I felt like if there’s going to be a compact, it might be shoved down our throats, and I wanted to have a voice, and I didn’t seem to have much of a voice.
I see the CSG Compact as being the lowest common denominator. When you join the CSG Compact, whichever state has the lowest level of scrutiny of their licensees drags everybody down to that level. It takes away our state’s ability to decide whether someone is qualified to practice in the state. The AADB, on the other hand, specifies that they have to take the ADEX exam.”
The American Association of Dental Boards developed a Dental and Dental Hygienist Licensure Compact that maintains states’ dental licensure requirements as they currently exist. In addition to a hand skills requirement, the AADB Compact requires participants to be free of disciplinary issues and have a clean criminal background.
“I think the way the AADB is doing this, it is one hundred times more efficient,” added Hickham.
The AADB Dental and Dental Hygienist Licensure Compact is available for review here. For additional information, email info@aadbdentalboards.org.