More than 64 million people in the United States live in areas with dentist shortages. Access to care is also limited for the 83 million children and adults who rely on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program: Only about one-third of U.S. dentists accept public insurance.

Left untreated, dental health problems can cause pain and tooth loss, impair children’s growth and social development, impede productivity and job opportunities, exacerbate chronic conditions, and complicate detection of oral cancers. And when dental pain becomes too severe to ignore, many people—more than 2 million in 2012— resort to emergency room visits, which provide no treatment for underlying oral health problems, but have a high price for patients and taxpayers: $1.6 billion in 2012, with Medicaid’s share totaling $520 million.

Pew’s dental campaign promoted cost-effective policies to help millions more people get the dental care they need to lead healthy lives. We conducted and commissioned research to define issues, identify solutions, and assess states' responses to dental care challenges. We worked with professionals with extensive expertise in dental health policy at the state and national levels.

Reports, testimony, and other materials by Pew’s dental experts helped to drive policy changes in a number of states.

Project goals

Pew’s dental campaign worked to close gaps in dental care access by:

  • Increasing the number of available providers through the addition of dental therapists, who are midlevel practitioners
  • Expanding school-based sealant programs to reach low-income children, who are at the greatest risk for dental decay
Article

What Are Dental Therapists?

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Article

What Are Dental Therapists?

Only about one-third of U.S. dentists accept public insurance. So another type of provider is helping dentists in private practice and public health settings address the gaps in access to dental health care that many Americans face.

Video

What is a Dental Therapist?

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For more than 125 million Americans, basic dental care is out of reach. But there’s a solution that can help: dental therapy.

Article

States Expand the Use of Dental Therapy

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Article

Dental therapists—midlevel providers similar to physician assistants in medicine—deliver preventive and routine restorative care, such as filling cavities, placing temporary crowns, and extracting badly diseased or loose teeth. As states grapple with provider shortages, especially to serve vulnerable populations, a handful have acted to allow dentists to hire these practitioners, and many others are exploring the option. Dental therapists also practice in several tribal communities, where access to care can be especially limited.

Article

Who Lacks Access?

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Article

Who Lacks Access?

Dental health in the United States has improved substantially in the past few decades, but not everyone has benefited equally.

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