The House Human Services Committee voted “Do Pass” 8 to 6 yesterday on HB 1256. This bill would allow enterprising dentists an opportunity to expand their oral health care team and increase access to dental care by hiring licensed dental therapists in North Dakota. North Dakotans for Dental Access, a
statewide coalition of 17 groups, supports this effort and HB 1256. We anticipate that a floor vote may happen as early as this week. A diverse range of media outlets have endorsed this concept in the last week, along with groups from both sides of the aisle in the state. In fact, one in four rural dentists, and 1 in 6 dentists statewide are interested in hiring dental therapists, according to preliminary results from a statewide survey done by the Center for Rural Health at UND.
To learn more about dental therapy and how it is working in other state, go to
www.nddentalaccess.com.