Last legislative session, Iowa became the first state to pass the Dentists and Dental Hygienist Compact. The Compact would allow dentists and dental hygienists greater portability with their licenses with other compact states. Earlier this month, Virginia became the fifth state to pass the Compact, joining Iowa, Washington, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Two more states need to pass the compact for it to officially go into effect. Twelve states have introduced the compact this year, but have yet to pass it: Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

“The licensure compact is one critical part of a multi-faceted approach to address workforce shortages impacting our profession. Licensure portability creates opportunity for individual professionals and for the profession at large, and the ADA stands strongly behind the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact,” said ADA President Linda J. Edgar, DDS.

For more information about the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, visit ddhcompact.org.