Without comment, Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation authorizing autonomous delivery robots to use sidewalks.

At The Pew Charitable Trusts, we base our policy recommendations on facts and data. Our analysis is rigorous. And we support dental therapy because the evidence is clear – it expands access to dental care.

I would say to those Arizona dentists who believe it won’t help their practices – don’t hire them. But don’t deprive your colleagues—especially those working in safety net clinics and rural communities—of the opportunity to improve their practices and the health of their patients.

Dental care in the Grand Canyon State is ranked 30th in the nation in terms of dental care and oral health, according to the research website WalletHub. Arizonans spend an average of $103.80 a year per capita on dental costs. That’s in the bottom third of the country.

A state Senate committee gave new hope to a proposal to license dental therapists in Arizona.

A Senate committee passed a hotly contested, bipartisan bill on February 7 that proposes to license dental therapists in Arizona.

Only by working together will we be successful in adopting innovative solutions to enhance the accessibility of our existing dental care delivery model.

In a recent commentary in the Arizona Capitol Times, representatives of the Arizona Dental Association and the Arizona Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons questioned a proposal to expand the availability of dental providers by licensing highly trained dental therapists. The commentary’s writers called the use of dental therapists an “experiment” — an odd way to describe a profession that has existed in more than 50 countries for nearly 100 years.

A bid to license dental therapists in Arizona survived the sunrise process November 29, paving the way for legislation to be introduced to the full Legislature.

With every county in Arizona needing more dental care providers, backers of licensing mid-level professionals are gearing up for a second attempt to convince lawmakers of their proposal to alleviate the shortage.