Georgia Dental Association's 2025 Key Initiatives
Optimal oral health is essential to overall health. That’s why Georgia Dental Association continues to advocate for member dentists and their patients throughout Georgia. Upcoming in 2025, our focus will be on driving policy change to improve and protect the oral health of Georgia residents. Read our latest policy positions at the bottom of the page, and explore our key initiatives below.
Key Initiatives
Teledentistry: Passing a teledentistry law that ensures the safety and well-being of Georgians is a major priority. Any law that is passed must include a provision requiring a bona-fide dentist-patient relationship with a Georgia licensed dentist prior to a teledentistry interaction.
GDA Policy Statement on Teledentistry
Medicaid: Recent history suggests that support for public insurance in the state of Georgia, particularly as relates to adequate reimbursement for services rendered, must be constant. We annually advocate for increasing reimbursement rates to levels that are a fair price, equivalent to the cost of providing dental care plus the value of a dentists’ professional judgment. We seek to ensure that ongoing conversations about reform to the Medicaid program, including expansion under the Affordable Care Act, take into account the need to adequately reimburse providers, ensure quality of care, and support access to care for Georgians who need it.
GDA Policy Statement on Medicaid Expansion
Expansion of Scope: We are committed to protecting the integrity of the dental profession. The Georgia Dental Association (GDA) believes that the dentist is the leader of the dental team and should be in control of how s/he practices dentistry, and the current dental delivery model provides for the most optimal oral health care for Georgians. Expanding the scope of provider responsibilities, as well as reducing required levels of direct supervision, is a frequently proposed solution for expanding access to care, but these kinds of proposals should never be undertaken in ways that jeopardize patient safety nor in ways that are inherently impractical, creating unnecessary costs or failing to address root causes of access issues. We are closely monitoring model legislation published by the American Legislative Exchange Council, as well as concepts proposed by other groups, and we will oppose any legislation put forward that is unsafe or impractical.
GDA Policy Statement on CRNA Expansion of Scope
Statewide Continuing Education Tracking: Opportunities to reduce administrative burden without compromising care quality are always welcome, and creating a central tracking system for dentists to manage their continuing education documentation is just that.
Preserving Existing Funding: Georgia has several programs designed to help support workforce development and to fill gaps in care. Dental focused ones include the Dentists for Rural Areas Assistance Program, Georgia Dentist Education Loan Repayment Program, and Donated Dental Services Program. We aim to ensure continued funding for these and other programs that help support our dental workforce.
Protecting Water Fluoridation: The 2024 session put conversations about water fluoridation back on the map. We are taking steps to remind the public, legislators, and our members of the significant public health benefits of community water fluoridation. We will oppose any legislation that seeks to remove Georgians’ access to optimally fluoridated water.
License Portability: With the advent of the newly forming Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, addressing license portability is a priority. As always, license portability must be balanced with patient safety and quality of care, and we will oppose any legislation that seeks to make the process of obtaining a license to practice dentistry less rigorous at the expense of patient safety. We will pursue avenues for licensure portability that reduce administrative burden while promoting high quality patient care. In all of this, we are mindful that the Georgia Board of Dentistry must also be able to continue to maintain oversight over dentists practicing in our state without ceding regulatory authority to a government body operating beyond the borders of our state.
