During a Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee on May 17, the American Dental Association (ADA) issued a statement advocating for greater access to dental care, calling it a "critical aspect of overall health."
The ADA said expanding access to dental services is one of its top priorities, especially through an increase in the dental workforce in underprivileged areas, according to a report on its website.
“Addressing dental workforce shortages and maldistribution in rural areas so that everyone has optimal access to oral health care is one of the ADA’s top priorities,” the association wrote in the statement. “Dental access issues should always be included in discussions of general health care access issues, remembering both the unique aspects of dental practice and that oral health is health.”
The ADA has more than 159,000 dentist members, but student loans are a major roadblock to attracting more people into dentistry, the ADA wrote. Most dental school programs require students to have completed a four-year bachelor's degree, after which they will study for four more years to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree, according to a report by College Ave.
On average, students pay between $210,000 and $353,000 for their degrees, the ADA wrote, highlighting several bills that could help prospective students manage their loans. The Indian Health Service Health Professions Tax Fairness Act would enable dentists and other health care professionals who are part of the Indian Health Service (IHS) Loan Repayment Program to exclude interest and principal loan payments from their federal taxes.
The ADA said the bill would be a useful tool for recruiting more workers, and the Restoring America’s Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act would increase funding for the National Health Service Corps scholarship and loan repayment programs for workers in federally designated areas with shortages.
"The ADA strongly supports increasing NHSC scholarship and loan repayment opportunities for dentists, dental hygienists, and other health care professionals. Expansion of NHSC programs would address problems with health workforce distribution and local shortages, while also providing an opportunity for dentists and others to reduce student loan debt through service," the ADA wrote.
The bipartisan Resident Education Deferred Interest Act (REDI Act) would enable borrowers who are serving in medical or dental internships or residency programs to qualify for interest-free deferment on their loans. It would then allow students to "save thousands of dollars in interest on their loans, the REDI Act makes opening practices in rural and underserved areas or pursuing an academic or research career in those areas more attractive and affordable to residents," the ADA said.
A lack of oral health care can result in untreated cavities and tooth decay, tooth loss, gum disease, and oral cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
