BILL NUMBER: S6929A
SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
to dental laboratories
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to provide for increased safety and trans-
parency for New Yorkers and their dentists related to dental prostheses,
devices or appliances, and to provide for the registration of dental
laboratories.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 1 of § 6611 of the education law to clari-
fy that prescriptions for dental impressions shall include digital
intraoral scans and analog impression, and to require dental laboratory
registration information to be included with dental laboratory
prescriptions.
Section 2; Amends § 6612 of the education law to clarify that dental
laboratories must comply with prosthetic identification marking require-
ments.
Section 3: Amends Article 5 of the public health law by adding Title VII
to provide for definitions relating to the provision of this act; adds §
591, to provide for the registration of dental laboratories doing busi-
ness or intending to do business in New York state and the 'requirements
for such registrations; adds § 592 to provide for the registration of
non-resident dental laboratories providing products into New York State
and the requirements for such registration; adds § 593 to provide for
enforcement and penalties.
Section 4: Establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The dental laboratory industry produces and provides dentures, crowns,
bridges, orthodontic appliances and other dental restorations for thou-
sands of New Yorkers each year. These important products and services
are integral to the improvement of patient health and the quality of
life for New Yorkers, every day. While New Yorkers and their dentists
assume the quality of these products and their constituent materials are
safe to use, there are few statutory protections in place to ensure they
are, in fact, manufactured in a safe environment and use quality materi-
als.
Currently, there is no requirement that a dental laboratory inform the
dentist of the Materials used in a restoration or the point of origin of
manufacture. Because poorly made dental restorations can lead to a range
of health consequences for patients, and negative treatment and profes-
sional outcomes for their dentists, it is critical that there be greater
oversight and accountability and that dentists receive the information
they need to ensure the standard of care for their patients.
Moreover, growing demand for dental work in the United States has helped
create a robust market for both high-end as well as more economically
priced dental restoration products. Recent surveys have shown that
nationwide approximately 25 percent of domestic dental laboratory sales,
and 38 percent of dental restorations are manufactured overseas,
evidenced by the fact that there are foreign dental laboratories from 42
countries currently registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration. While the global market to provide these services and products
has expanded, awareness of the sourcing of dental restorations and their
component materials has not kept pace with the rate of change. The abil-
ity to have a full understanding and confidence in the origin of dental
restoration materials is therefore vital to patients and dentists in
ensuring better health outcomes and safer restorations.
This legislation promotes modest, yet important, measures to improve
public health and consumer safety. By providing for improved product
transparency practitioners, establishing reasonable registration stand-
ards and accountability for dental laboratories and their products, this
legislation will ensure that dentists receive the information needed to
strengthen patient and health provider confidence and improve health
outcomes.
 
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
None.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S.7214 (Chu) - Referred to Higher Education
2023: S.7214 - Referred to Higher Education
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.

Statutes affected:
S6929: 6611 education law, 6611(1) education law, 6612 education law
S6929A: 6611 education law, 6611(1) education law, 6612 education law