Here’s something to smile about. State Rep. Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren), Republican chair of the House Health Committee, announced the committee approved two bills to boost access to dental care in Pennsylvania. House Bill 1417 would restore dental coverage for Medical Assistance recipients. House Bill 1585 would establish access and coverage for teledentistry in Pennsylvania.

“I am a strong believer in making dental care more accessible, particularly for those in the more rural parts of the Commonwealth,” Rapp said. “A virtual dentist visit may be the only option for some children, and this legislation ensures that those kids will still be seen by qualified health care professionals.”

She is absolutely right. One of the problems in rural areas of Pennsylvania is health care. As maternity units continue to close at smaller hospitals — fortunately not in Warren — it takes a toll on a large section of the state that has low populations.

In January, a report focusing on Rural Dental Health was completed. It noted the primary obstacle to dental care is access to a dentist. The state report considered the “outflow” of dentists, which is influenced by dentists retiring or leaving the state – and the “inflow,” which are new dentists entering the field.

“Most troubling with this imbalance is that rural communities are likely to be further underserved because new dentists are not locating to rural areas to begin their practice,” the report noted. “Instead, dental graduates are preferring more readily available employment options in non-rural areas of the state. For example, we found that in 2019, only 6 percent of the graduates from Pennsylvania based dental schools practiced in rural areas.”

Rapp’s bill does not solve the overall problem addressed by the report, but it does offer an option that is better than none.