We, the undersigned, support HB 1177 and SB 1000 for the 2023 Legislative Session.
HB 1177 by Rep. Melony Bell and SB 1000 by Sen. Alexis Calatayud takes a measured step forward to increase access to dental health across our state.
Key Facts about Florida’s Oral Health Crisis:
- Florida leads the nation in number of individuals – nearly SIX MILLION – living in Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas.
- Florida ranks last (50th out of 50 states) in percentage of children receiving a dental health visit in the last 12 months.
- Out of 50 states, Florida ranks 42nd for percentage of adults who have received one annual dental visit in 2021.
- One out of four (25.1%) Florida 3rd graders have untreated cavities, making Florida the sixth worst state in the nation for this measure.
- Nearly 120,000 Floridians visited the emergency room (ER) in 2021 for non-traumatic dental conditions and 3,200 were admitted.
These bills:
- Allow all health access settings (see list of these settings below) to contract with mobile dental units to provide important oral care services to Floridians.
- Define “mobile dental unit” as a “nonfacility structure in which dental
equipment used in the practice of dentistry is transported to and used on a temporary basis at an out-of-office location”. This clarifies that a mobile dental unit is not only a mobile dental van, which can be expensive to purchase and operate, but also portable dental equipment specifically designed to provide only preventive dental care.
(Health access settings are defined as: programs or institutions of the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health, the Department of Juvenile Justice; nonprofit community health centers; federal approved head start centers; county health departments, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs); school-based prevention programs and clinic operated by accredited colleges of dentistry or accredited dental hygiene programs.)
These bills:
- DO NOT expand the scope of practice for dental hygienists. Dental hygienists currently are authorized to provide services in health access settings without the presence of physical presence of a dentist.
- DO NOT allow dental hygienists to become Medicaid billing providers, directly bill for services or be directly reimbursed for services.
We urge passage of this very good bill!