Senate Hearing Calls for Expanding Dental Education, Removing Bureaucratic Barriers to Reduce Dental Workforce Shortages

JENKINS TOWNSHIP - Efforts to expand access to dental education and reduce barriers to entry to address severe workforce shortages in dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants were the focus of a public hearing of the Senate Majority Policy Committee chaired by Sen. Dave Argall (R-29) today. The hearing featured dental professionals, educators, insurance companies and other advocates who gave their perspectives on how dental workforce shortages harm public health and shared successful strategies that encouraged more people to pursue these careers.

"Almost one third of Pennsylvanians do not receive regular dental care, which increases rates of opioid abuse, contributes to heart disease and overwhelms emergency rooms with preventable dental issues. At the same time, more than 22% of Pennsylvania dentists are aged 65 and older, and more than 18% of our dental hygienists are aged 60 and older," Argall said. "If we do not act this problem will soon get much, much worse."

Dr. Roosevelt Allen, senior vice president and chief dental officer for United Concordia Dental, shared the reality on the ground, stating, "we observe a profound geographic maldistribution of dental professionals across the state. This creates 'dental deserts' in our rural communities, where residents often face long travel times to receive care." He advocated for the creation of an additional dental school in central Pennsylvania, expanding the scope of practice for dental hygienists and loan repayment programs for dentists practicing in shortage areas to help rural residents access care.

Dr. James Mancini, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, noted a study found Pennsylvania was ranked first in the nation for dentists moving out of the state from 2014-24, with a negative net migration of 13.3%. He pointed to complicated insurance requirements as a factor in dentists moving to practice in other states. Dr. Darleen Oleski trustee for the Pennsylvania Dental Association, called for the passage of Argall's Senate Bill 888, which would streamline the insurance credentialing process and make Pennsylvania more attractive to young dentists considering where to begin their careers.

Ann Hoffman, dental program director at Central Penn College, stated, "at its core, this issue comes down to the numbers. We simply do not have enough dental hygienists-preventative providers, to meet the needs of our communities." She outlined the impact of a lack of educational opportunities in dental fields, sharing that a nearby community college receives more than 200 qualified applicants annually to their dental hygiene program but can only accept 27. She discussed how her institution stepped in to address the severe shortage of dental hygienists by creating a new degree pathway which offered on-campus housing and housing scholarships to applicants.

Dr. Michael Verber, CEO and chairman of Verber Dental Group, stated the center of the dental workforce crisis "is a severe and worsening shortage of dental hygienists." He noted many institutions are hesitant to adopt dental hygiene education programs because of high upfront costs, and targeted investments could help create more much-needed programs throughout the commonwealth.

Dr. Linda Straub-Bruce, who represented the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health, focused on the shortage of dental hygienists, stating, "when even one full-time hygienists position remains vacant for a year, it can result in the loss of thousands of preventative care visits, contributing to delayed diagnosis, increased disease burden and reduced practice capacity." She identified burnout, limited career mobility and advancement opportunities, compensation and benefits, and regulatory constraints limiting full utilization of scope of practice as factors driving people away from being a dental hygienist. She called for Pennsylvania to join a dentist and dental hygienist interstate licensure compact and create new workforce development pipelines in both higher education and high school career and technical programs.

Argall, Rep. Jamie Barton (R-124) and other community leaders recently championed the creation of Temple University's first rural dental education center and clinic in downtown Tamaqua, a key step towards expanding rural Pennsylvania's dental workforce. The 24-chair education center and clinic will host 10 third-year and 10 fourth-year dental students for their final two years of training and provide comprehensive care to underserved patients.

"The information we gathered here today will significantly help our efforts, in Tamaqua and across the commonwealth, to encourage more dental professionals to practice in our communities," Argall said.

Video of the full hearing and written testimony can be found at Policy.PASenateGOP.com.

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