SPRINGFIELD — To expand access to dental care, State Senator Michael E. Hastings passed legislation designed to ensure patients can access virtual dental care safely while maintaining strong professional standards.
“When life gets hectic, dental care is often the first thing that gets put to the side,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort). “This will especially help rural and low-income communities who often have a lack access to dental care.”
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:
- 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.
“Senate Bill 3211 is an important step toward improving access to oral health care in Illinois,” said Dental Science and Network Strategist at Delta Dental of Illinois Dr. Jason Grinter. “Current law creates unnecessary barriers by requiring an in-person visit before teledentistry can be used, except in emergencies. This bill removes that restriction, allowing teledentistry to be used for preventive services, triage, follow-up care and care coordination, making it easier for more patients to get the care they need.”
Senate Bill 3211 passed the full Senate Wednesday.
