Study Explores Leveraging Dental Hygienists To Expand Access To Oral Health Care

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 12, 2026) — Dental hygienists play a critical role in delivering preventive oral health care, helping patients maintain good oral health and preventing more serious and costly dental problems. Yet in many states, laws and regulations governing the dental hygiene profession can limit where and how hygienists practice — potentially restricting patients’ access to essential preventive services. 

A new study from the Oral Health Workforce Research Center, part of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany, examines these regulatory barriers and identifies opportunities to better leverage the dental hygiene workforce to expand access to oral health care.

The study, recently published in the Journal of Dental Hygiene, explores how changes in dental hygiene scope of practice, care delivery models and technology have affected the dental hygiene profession over the past decade. Researchers conducted interviews with five national dental hygiene leaders to identify persistent barriers to expanding the role of dental hygienists and strategies for strengthening their ability to provide preventive oral health services.

The study identified four major themes:

• Regulatory constraints and representation: Significant variation in dental hygiene scope-of-practice laws across states, along with limited representation of dental hygienists on state dental boards, can restrict professional autonomy and influence how dental hygienists are able to practice.
• Barriers to care in underserved communities: Regulatory limitations can constrain the ability of dental hygienists to deliver preventive services in community-based settings, potentially limiting access to care for underserved populations.
• Technology and innovation: Innovations such as teledentistry and digital diagnostic tools have the potential to expand access and support new models of care, although cost and reimbursement remain challenges.
• Strategies for advancing scope of practice: Informants identified several strategies to strengthen dental hygiene practice, including independent dental hygiene regulatory boards, expanded educational pathways, interstate licensure compacts and improved Medicaid and direct reimbursement for services provided by dental hygienists.

“Dental hygienists have an important role to play in expanding access to preventive oral health care, particularly in communities where access to dental services is limited,” said UAlbany’s Theekshana Fernando, lead author on the study and research scientist at the Center for Health Workforce Studies. “Our findings suggest that regulatory and payment policies need to evolve alongside advances in education, technology and models of care so that dental hygienists can practice to the full extent of their training and contribute more effectively to improving oral health.”

Despite progress in dental hygiene education, technology and professional practice, the study found that regulatory variability and other structural barriers continue to limit the profession’s ability to contribute fully to a prevention-focused oral health system. The researchers conclude that coordinated policy reforms are needed to strengthen dental hygienists’ professional autonomy and improve access to preventive oral health services.

“Understanding how the dental hygiene workforce is regulated and utilized is critical to developing strategies that improve access to oral health care,” said UAlbany’s Simona Surdu, director of the Oral Health Workforce Research Center. “Our study provides important insights into how policy, education, regulation and innovation can work together to better leverage the dental hygiene workforce.”