Senate hearing calls for expanding dental education to reduce workforce shortages

JENKINS TWP. — The public health impact of dental care shortages and strategies to grow the dental care workforce were discussed at a Senate Majority Policy Committee public hearing on Monday at Benco Dental in Jenkins Township.

Sen. Dave Argall, R-Pottsville, chair of the committee, called the hearing to learn from dental professionals, educators, and advocates about the challenges patients face in accessing care and initiatives that have successfully encouraged more dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants.

“I recently learned about the heartbreaking story of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver, a Maryland boy who died after an untreated tooth infection spread to his brain,” said Argall. “Stories like this are devastating — and they are preventable. This public hearing will help guide our work to expand access to dental care and protect Pennsylvanians from unnecessary pain and suffering.”

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 also on the agenda at the public hearing. 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,” Argall said. “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. If we do not act, this problem will soon get much, much worse.”

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said she appreciated the opportunity to hear thoughtful suggestions from professionals across Pennsylvania and learn how the General Assembly can work to address the challenges of access and affordability of dental care.

“Those recommendations included expanding scope of practice and training programs, as well as advocating for low-interest loans and grant programs for dentists in shortage areas and the need for help with technology advancements in dental practices,” Baker said.

Dr. Roosevelt Allen, senior vice president and chief dental officer for United Concordia Dental, shared the reality on the ground.

“We observe a profound geographic maldistribution of dental professionals across the state,” Allen said. “This creates ‘dental deserts’ in our rural communities, where residents often face long travel times to receive care.”

Allen 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 to 2024, 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.

Darleen Oleski, trustee for the Pennsylvania Dental Association, called for the passage of Sen. 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.”

Dr. Michael Verber, CEO and chairman of Verber Dental Group, said 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 of the 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 hygienist 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 the scope of practice as factors driving people away from being a dental hygienist.