Hastings leads effort to expand virtual dental care

To expand access to dental care, State Senator Michael E. Hastings is carrying legislation designed to ensure patients can access virtual dental care safely while maintaining strong professional standards.

“Whether it is because of a disability or lack of access to transportation, people often struggle to make it to the dentist as much as they should,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort).

“While it may seem harmless early on, missing out on routine dental work can lead to costly emergency room visits down the road.”

Senate Bill 3211 would clarify when and how virtual dental care may be used, ensuring patients can access dental care safely while maintaining strong professional standards. Hastings stressed that the bill would:

Illinois Senator Michael Hastings. Courtesy of Senator Hastings

· Address critical access gaps.

· Reduce barriers for children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income families with transportation, mobility or scheduling challenges.

· Enable care delivery in schools, long-term care facilities, community health centers and other settings where patients already are.

· Support early intervention, preventing minor oral health issues from becoming costly emergency room visits.

Virtual dental care has been found to offer patients and providers the flexibility needed to solve in-person limitations. Patients have the valuable option to directly reach out to a dentist from virtually anywhere. This approach allows dentists to conduct a detailed evaluation of the issue before recommending any treatment, resulting in significant time and cost savings. Consequently, this approach minimizes the need for travel and leads to shorter waiting times at dental offices.

For dentists, virtual consultations enable the option of examining more patients in a single day. Additionally, it may reduce the need to schedule follow-up appointments following treatment because dentists can keep in touch with their patients virtually to check on their progress and deliver advice as needed.

Senate Bill 3211 passed the Senate Licensed Activities Committee Wednesday.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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