Support Tribal Sovereignty in Action: Oral Health Access!

American Indian/Alaska Native children suffer the highest rates of dental decay of any population in our state due to the lack of access to care. Washington Tribes are unable to use their federal resources to employ dental therapists for their own people, on their own lands, because of the Dental Industry's manipulations of federal legislation. This bill would lift that restriction and allow Tribes to turn the tide on oral health disparities in their communities by employing dental therapists--highly trained, culturally competent mid-level providers that have a proven record of increasing access to routine and preventive care.