Dental therapist bill to address dentist shortage on the move in the Senate after House passage

After the House earlier this month cleared a bill that would create a new “dental therapist” position to fill gaps in oral health care access, the Senate is now taking up the matter.

The measure (HB 363) seeks to address dentist shortages in some areas, and is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, its only referred Committee before the Senate floor.

The bill would create a new category of dental professional, dental therapists, who would serve as mid-level practitioners more highly trained than dental hygienists, but without the extensive training dentists undergo.

Dental therapists would work under the supervision of a Florida-licensed dentist. The bill would require dental therapists to be a graduate of an American Dental Association CODA-accredited dental therapy educational program. They would have to pass the same licensing exam dentists take for procedures that the dental therapists would be authorized to perform, including dental exams, fillings and simple extractions.

The measure would address what supporters of the bill say is an oral health crisis in Florida, with all but one Florida county designated as facing a dental health professional shortage, according to Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) data.

HRSA data show more than 1,250 dentists would be needed to close the current coverage gaps, which cost an estimated $45 billion in lost work productivity across the U.S. as a result of untreated oral disease.

Moreover, Florida hospitals charged nearly $1 billion for emergency room and hospital admissions in 2024 to provide pain relief for preventable dental issues.

And untreated dental and oral health issues can have lasting and potentially fatal impacts to the rest of the body, with poor oral health associated with chronic conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Meanwhile, approximately 11 Floridians are admitted to hospitals each day for life-threatening conditions caused by untreated dental disease.

Rep. Linda Chaney, the bill sponsor, noted earlier this month when the House cleared her legislation that Florida lacks about 1,300 dentists. She said 5.9 million Floridians live in 274 health professional shortage areas.

The shortages are most pronounced in Dixie and Gilchrist counties, where there aren’t any licensed dentists.

Some critics, primarily Democrats, have expressed concern that the bill’s passage would allow very young adults — as young as just 18 years old — to perform extractions and deliver anesthesia in dental offices. One Democrat suggested students earning only a GED would be permitted to perform procedures allowable under the bill.

Supporters refute such claims, noting that dental therapists would have to undergo four years of higher education training, including a year of science-based prerequisites and three years in an accredited dental therapy school. More complex procedures, like root canals, would still be performed by licensed dentists, not dental therapists.

While dental therapists would be permitted to administer certain anesthesia, such as nitrous oxide, they would do so under a dentist’s supervision and would have to first complete an anesthesia administration course and receive a Department of Health certificate on basic or advanced cardiac life support.

If the bill becomes law, dental therapists would also be permitted to cement temporary crowns, pre-size orthodontic bands, administer bleach to teeth, remove rubber dams and make impressions.

In addition to establishing dental therapists in Florida — 15 other states already have established the position — Chaney’s bill would also expand Medicaid reimbursement for dental providers who work in mobile dental clinics, a provision further aimed at increasing oral health care access.