Roughly 30 AGD advocates, including its leadership team, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal policymakers during the week of May 20, 2024. AGD heard from prominent Administration stakeholders on their oral health priorities, including Dr. Natalia Chalmers DDS, MHSc, PhD, the Chief Dental Officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Dr. Adam Barefoot, DMD, MPH, the Chief Dental Office of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Additionally, AGD advocates spent a full day on Capitol Hill, participating in meetings with key Members of Congress and their health care advisors. AGD provided Congress with a comprehensive overview of the critical issues that general dentists face, including workforce shortages and anticompetitive dental insurance practices. Specifically, AGD asked Members of Congress to support legislation that would strengthen the practice of dentistry and oral health, asking Members to cosponsor and enact the following legislation:

• H.R.994/S.403: The Oral Health Literacy Act, which would authorize a public education campaign to increase oral health literacy and awareness; 
• H.R.1385/S.1424: The DOC Access Act, which would prohibit dental and vision insurance plans from rate setting the fees charged for non-covered services; and
• H.R.3843/S.2891: The Action for Dental Health Act, which would reauthorize state grants to support dental health workforce initiatives in areas with dental health provider shortages.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD will continue educating Members of Congress about the importance of oral health, and advocate for policies that support general dentists and promote access to high quality care. AGD will leverage the success of the Congressional fly-in to expand on the progress made by our advocates in promoting key policy priorities.