The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee approved a bill with two provisions that may help address shortages in the dental workforce.
The first provision calls for increased support to the National Health Service Corps, according to a May 24 news release from the American Dental Association. The National Health Service Corps scholarship and loan repayment programs are intended to help attract dentists to areas that are facing critical workforce shortages.
The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program also received a boost in the bill. The program expands existing dental residency programs and creates new ones, training more dentists to work in underserved areas, including federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.