Oral Health Workforce Gap Assessment
Understanding Virginia's Oral Health Workforce Crisis — and How to Fix It
Despite thousands of licensed oral health professionals in Virginia, the Commonwealth's oral health workforce is falling far short of need, and the shortfall falls hardest on rural communities, low-income Virginians, and communities of color. This report documents the challenge through multiple data lenses: workforce supply and distribution, Medicaid participation rates, and troubling health outcomes like tooth extraction rates that are twice as high for the lowest-income Virginians. Use it to understand the structural roots of Virginia's oral health access crisis and to build support for the training, incentive, and policy solutions that can move the Commonwealth toward true oral health equity.