Fear of visiting the dentist is a long-running trope in American culture, but in terms of maintaining good health, the bigger problem is not having access to dental care.

Dental health long has been treated as a separate part of the health care system, even though a large and growing body of evidence shows that good dental care is important not only for dental health but also integral to overall health. The Mayo Clinic calls oral health a “window” on overall health, citing its relevance to everything from cardiac health to healthy pregnancy.

Yet access to regular dental care is even spottier than access to general health care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about a third of Pennsylvanians do not receive regular dental care.

And the Health Resources and Services Administration reports that the number of dental care “health professional shortage areas” in Pennsylvania has increased from 149 in 2020 to 161 as of June. That’s a calculation of the number of professionals available per number of residents in a given geographic area. Shortages tend to be most acute in poor urban and rural areas.

Democratic state Rep. Kyle Mullins has proposed a bill to help alleviate the shortage, borrowing on measures that the state government has taken to mitigate similar problems in other areas of health care, such as the ongoing nursing shortage.

Under the bill, Pennsylvania would become part of the multistate Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. That would enable dentists and hygienists licensed in other states in the compact to practice in Pennsylvania without repeating the licensing procedure.

An application process would ensure that the professionals are in good standing with their home-state licensing boards and have no pending disciplinary issues. Applicants also would be subject to background checks.

Mullins noted that the state has entered several other health care compacts with other states since 2020, including for emergency medical services personnel, nurses, mental health professionals and physical therapists.

Increasing access to dental care in underserved areas is an opportunity for lawmakers to pass a bill with smiles of their own.

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