The department shall explore additional opportunities to improve the Medi-Cal Dental Program, in consultation with stakeholders and as deemed appropriate by the department and to the extent permitted by federal law, including, but not limited to, the following: Adjusting other utilization controls for specialty services, as appropriate, to promote access to care while still protecting program integrity. Paragraph (1) shall not exempt the department from establishing a competitive bid process for awarding new contracts pursuant to Section 14104.3, as well as for awarding new dental contracts pursuant to Sections 14087.46 and 14089.