The Florida Senate Rules Committee has temporarily postponed a bill that would create a new “dental therapist” role to help address gaps in oral health care.
House Bill 363, which appeared stalled due to the absence of a Senate companion, briefly appeared on the Senate Rules agenda Tuesday. Sources say negotiations revealed insufficient support, leading to a temporary postponement during the final days of the legislative session.
The bill aimed to introduce dental therapists as mid-level practitioners, more advanced than dental hygienists but less extensively trained than dentists. Dental therapists would have worked under the supervision of Florida-licensed dentists and been required to graduate from an American Dental Association CODA-accredited dental therapy program. They would also need to pass licensing exams for the procedures they were authorized to perform, including dental exams, fillings, and simple extractions.
Supporters of the legislation said the measure would help address Florida’s oral health crisis. According to Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) data, all but one Florida county faces a shortage of dental professionals, with more than 1,250 dentists needed to close the gap. Untreated dental disease costs an estimated $45 billion annually in lost productivity nationwide.
Florida hospitals billed nearly $1 billion in 2024 for emergency room visits and hospital admissions related to preventable dental conditions. Poor oral health is also linked to chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease. On average, 11 Floridians are admitted to hospitals daily for life-threatening complications stemming from untreated dental disease.
House sponsor Republican Rep. Linda Chaney highlighted that Florida lacks roughly 1,300 dentists, with 5.9 million residents living in 274 federally designated health professional shortage areas. Shortages are especially severe in Dixie and Gilchrist counties, which currently have no licensed dentists.
Opponents, primarily Democrats, raised concerns that the bill would allow young adults — as young as 18 — to perform extractions and administer anesthesia. Some critics even suggested that students with only a GED could qualify for the role.
Supporters countered that dental therapists would complete four years of higher education, including one year of science prerequisites and three years in an accredited dental therapy program. More complex procedures, such as root canals, would remain under the care of licensed dentists.
Fifteen other U.S. states have already established dental therapist positions as part of efforts to expand access to oral health care.