Emergency departments are not equipped to treat dental problems and typically provide just temporary pain relief.

Raising Medicaid reimbursements will help some but increases in access are mostly modest and very expensive. More is needed in Florida to solve the oral health crisis.

Loan forgiveness is an expensive strategy that isn’t large enough to attract and recruit enough dentists to impact access to care in rural communities.

Poor oral health has been linked to many systemic illnesses and also affects confidence, self-esteem, ability to eat, speak, smile, school attendance, learning and performance.

Charity is not a health care system. It is, in effect, the definition of second-tier care.

66 of Florida’s 67 counties have Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. The overall number of licensed dentists in a state does nothing to assess provider adequacy.