HHS authorized dentists and dental students to administer certain vaccines to patients in a declared emergency, and five other federal updates for dentists to know:
1. HHS amended the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration Oct. 3 to allow dentists and dental students to administer monkeypox, smallpox and other orthopoxvirus vaccines to patients in a declared emergency.
2. The American Dental Association shared several ways Congress can increase access to dental care for patients with disabilities in a Sept. 23 request for information.
3. The National Dental Association and the Case Western University School of Dental Medicine in Cleveland committed to improving dentists' nutrition education as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's initiative to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.
4. In a Sept. 23 letter to the HHS Office for Civil Rights, ADA President Cesar Sabates, DDS, and Executive Director Raymond Cohlmia, DDS, shared concerns with the possible regulatory burdens and cost of a proposed provision of the Affordable Care Act.
5. On Oct. 1 all 50 states and Washington, D.C., began offering dental coverage for Medicaid enrollees who are pregnant and postpartum through at least 60 days after pregnancy.
6. A coalition led by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Dental Association and American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons urged CMS to increase access to dental surgeries at ASCs.