The Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee recently held a hearing to discuss the lack of access to dental care in rural Pennsylvania, the Franklin County Free Press reported June 20.
Six notes:
1. The hearing, held June 18, included testimony from dentists and other industry leaders about the effects of a lack of access to dental care in rural areas of the state.
2. Dental professionals cited a combination of workforce shortages and insufficient insurance coverage as the main factors behind the lack of access.
3. Helen Hawkey, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health, also discussed the risks associated with untreated dental issues, including diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy complications.
4. Potential solutions discussed during the hearing included continuing water fluoridation, expanding oral health education in schools and reforming insurance in the state to include oral health as essential healthcare.
5. Amid Ismail, BDS, PhD, dean of the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry, stressed the importance of reforming Medicaid and reducing bureaucracy to increase access to care.
6. Dr. Ismail also announced that Temple University will open a dental school in Tamaqua, Pa., the first rural dental school in the state.
