Here are 15 recent dental industry updates in California, Florida and Texas:
California
1. Aptos, Calif.-based Cabrillo College addressed all but one of the eight violations that placed its dental hygiene program on probation and at risk of losing its accreditation.
2. California’s 2026-27 state budget preserves Medi-Cal dental funding for another year, delaying $1 billion in proposed cuts until July 1, 2027.
3. Faraday Future delivered its Master humanoid robot to Wonderful Life Dental Group in Los Angeles, marking the company’s first deployment of an embodied AI robot in a healthcare setting.
Florida
1. Two senior patients say billing confusion at Florida dental practices supported by Henderson, Nev.-based PDS Health left them with unexpected costs.
2. Effingham, Ill.-based Heartland Dental added a Florida dental practice to its network. The DSO partnered with Denta Smiles in Coral Springs, Fla.
3. Orlando, Fla.-based Standard Dental Labs signed a letter of intent to acquire an unnamed dental laboratory in the Tampa Bay region.
4. A newly constructed retail property in Bradenton, Fla., that includes an Aspen Dental practice was sold for $10.98 million.
5. Sarasota, Fla.-based Parkview Dental Partners opened a de novo practice in Tampa, Fla.
6. A former employee at a dental practice in Wellington, Fla., was accused of deleting computer files and shredding practice documents.
7. A retail property in Jacksonville, Fla., that includes a Heartland Dental practice was sold for $11.1 million.
8. A woman in Miami Gardens, Fla., is facing charges of practicing dentistry without a license and possessing prescription drugs with the intent to sell or deliver.
Texas
1. Cure Dental in Belton, Texas, suffered a data breach affecting more than 800 patients.
2. Cuddle Kids Dental in Fort Worth, Texas, remains closed following the arrest of its owner, Chrishelle Hemphill, DDS, who was charged after a 4-year-old patient died during a dental procedure in April.
3. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Imagen Dental Partners affiliated with two practices in San Antonio.
4. Chicago-based Phase 1 Equity added a multilocation orthodontic practice in Texas, its third practice addition of 2026.
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