California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 952 into law, which requires dental insurers to clearly disclose whether a patient’s plan is state or federally regulated when dental providers are ascertaining a patient’s coverage. The…

North Carolina’s Medicaid Expansion initiative is set to begin October 1. Despite the fact that the state’s General Assembly has yet to allocate funding for the program, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is…

Following in the footsteps of Iowa — the pioneer — Washington, and Tennessee, Pennsylvania introduced legislation on July 25 to participate in the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. After a minimum of seven states join the compact,…

A fruitful collaboration between the Hispanic Dental Association and the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health has culminated in the publication of the white paper titled “Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Hispanics in the United States.”…

In 2019, New Mexico passed legislation to enable the licensure of a new dental provider: the dental therapist. However, implementation of the bill has been slow with little progress being made since 2019. No dental therapists are licensed…

Tennessee is making strides toward becoming one of the pioneer states to adopt the Dental and Dental Hygienist Interstate Compact. This landmark agreement would enable dental professionals with licenses from member states to practice in…

A new rule published in the Federal Register grants more than 186,000 federal part-time and seasonal employees access to the federal government’s dental and vision insurance program. Eligible employees must work a minimum of 130 hours per…

Undeniably, one result of the COVID-19 pandemic is that a significant number of Americans worked from home, often experiencing remote work for the first time. This switch in employment patterns has created a cadre of individuals with strong…

While California has seen improvement over the past several years when it comes to missed school days due to dental problems —446,000 in 2018 to 270,000 in 2021— the state wants to continue to see that number drop. As such, Smile,…

When dentists and dental hygienists renew their license to practice in the state of Indiana every other year, they pay a $20 fee that goes into a state-run compliance fund. The fund is intended for use in investigating oral health…